chanoine

Forms

chanoine m (plural chanoines, feminine chanoinesse)^[1] Old French canonie (Chanson de Roland), chanuine (1121–1135, Philippe de Thaon) and chanoine (about 1165).^[2][3] Littré notes that the metre shows canonie in the Roland was pronounced canoine.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Ecclesiastical Latin canonicus, an adjective meaning “in conformity with the rules of the Church” (second half of the 4th century), then “conforming to the rule of a religious order” and “belonging regularly to a diocese or a church”.^[2][3] As a noun it named a cleric regularly attached to the clergy of a church (4th century), and then a member of its chapter (8th century, in Chrodegang).^[2][3] The Latin is from Ancient Greek κανονικός (kanonikós, “according to rule”), from κανών (kanṓn, “rule”).^[2][5][1] The learned canonique is its doublet.^[1][3]

Cognate with archaic Italian calonaco, Old Occitan canonge, Catalan canonge, Spanish canónigo and Portuguese cônego.^[6][5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) as canonie, a canon of a church, in the line Moines, canonies, prouveires couronez “monks, canons, tonsured priests”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names a church dignitary who belongs to the chapter of a cathedral or collegiate church and sometimes holds a prebend, and also a religious who lives in community under a rule and serves a particular church.^[3][2] The comfortable life of canons gave proverbial phrases: vivre comme un chanoine “to live quietly, in plenty and idleness” is recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux in 1704, and gras comme un chanoine is also in use.^[2][3]

Its derivatives are chanoinesse (1264, channonnesse), chanoinie (about 1175, chanonie), the benefice of a canon, later supplanted by canonicat, and the rare chanoinerie (14th century).^[3][5][2]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Canonie in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• 1121–1135 – Chanuine in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire.^[2]
• c. 1165 – The form chanoine in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[2]
• c. 1175 – The derivative chanonie “canonry”.^[2][3]
• 1264 – Channonnesse “canoness”.^[3]
• 1704 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux records vivre comme un chanoine.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A canon, a church dignitary who is a member of the chapter of a cathedral, collegiate church or certain basilicas, sometimes holding a prebend;^[7][2][8] chanoine titulaire, chanoine honoraire.^[7][2][8]
2. Chanoines réguliers: canons regular, who have taken religious vows and live in community.^[8][3]
3. (familiar) Mener une vie de chanoine: to lead a calm, easy life;^[8][4][7] gras comme un chanoine: plump and well fed.^[8][4][7]

Word family

• chanoinesse
• chanoinie
• chanoinerie

Related words

• canonique
• canonicat
• canon²
• Latin canonicus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse