Etymologically
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chanson

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃɑ̃.sɔ̃/[1]

Forms

chanson f (plural chansons)[1] Old French chançun (about 1100), chançon, chanson from the 13th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chançon, inherited from Latin cantiō (“song, singing”), an action noun corresponding to canō (“to sing”) (see chanter).[4][2][5][6][7][1] The other Latin action noun, cantus, gave chant.[2] Etymonline traces the root to Proto-Indo-European *kan- (“to sing”).[8]

Cognate with Italian canzone, Occitan canson, Catalan cançó, Spanish canción and Portuguese canção.[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses chançun for a piece of verse to be sung: Male chançun n'en deit estre chantée “no evil song must be sung of it”.[4][9]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th century it also meant a poem, and chanson de geste was the epic.[4][2][9] Before the 15th century the chanson merged with poetry and vocal music; in the 16th century it became the polyphonic song of Attaingnant, Janequin and Marot, then a popular, spontaneous form, and in the 18th century a recognized genre with the Caveau (about 1740–1760), Désaugiers and Béranger.[2] Chanson à boire dates from 1671.[4]

Figuratively chansons were idle talk (16th century) and c'est toujours la même chanson “the same old story” (1608, Régnier).[4][11] Chateaubriand (1803) speaks of the song of a bird, and Vigny (1837) of a flute.[4] English borrowed chanson about 1600.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Chançun, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 12th century – “Poem”, chanson de geste.[4][9]
  • 1528 – Attaingnant's Chansons nouvelles.[2]
  • 1608 – “The same old story”, Régnier.[4]
  • 1671 – Chanson à boire.[4]
  • 1803 – The song of a bird, Chateaubriand.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A song: chanter une chanson, chanson d'amour, chanson populaire.[12][1]
  2. (literature) Chanson de geste: an Old French epic poem.[2][12]
  3. The song of a bird; a harmonious sound.[4][11]
  4. (familiar) C'est toujours la même chanson: it's always the same old story, (plural, dated) nonsense.[4][11]

Word family

  • chansonnette
  • chansonnier
  • chansonner
  • chanter
  • chant
  • cantique
  • English chanson

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 235a
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  11. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  12. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert