Etymologically
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charme

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charme1 hornbeam

Pronunciation

Forms

charme m (plural charmes)[1]

Etymology

The tree name is inherited from Latin carpinus (“hornbeam”).[2][3][4][5][6] Littré thought the standard form with /m/ was assimilated to the word for a magic spell, since dialects have forms closer to the Latin;[7] Meyer-Lübke lists Picard karn and Norman karn.[8] Littré also reports that the Latin word was believed to be Celtic;[7] Wiktionary connects it, probably, with Proto-Indo-European *kh₂er- (“hard”).[1]

Cognate with Romanian carpin, Italian carpino, Old Occitan carpre, Spanish carpe and Portuguese carpe.[8][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1170 in Chrétien de Troyes's Erec et Enide, naming the tree.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

By metonymy the word also names the tree's hard white wood, used in carpentry, joinery and cartwrighting.[2][9] Its derivatives name places planted with hornbeams: charmoie, found as the place name La Charmoye in 1257 and recorded by Cotgrave in 1611, and charmille (1690), a hedge or bower of young hornbeams.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1170 – Chrétien de Troyes, Erec et Enide.[2]
  • 1257 – The place name La Charmoye.[2]
  • 1690 – The derivative charmille.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The hornbeam, a tree of the genus Carpinus with hard, white, fine-grained wood.[5][4][2]
  2. The wood of this tree.[2][9]

Word family

  • charmille
  • charmoie
  • charmeraie

charme2 charm, spell

Pronunciation

Forms

charme m (plural charmes)[1] Anglo-Norman also cherme.[10]

Etymology

The word for a spell is inherited from Latin carmen (“rhythmic formula, incantation; song, poem”).[11][3][4][1][12] Rey explains that the Latin word first belonged to religious and legal language before taking the wider literary sense “song”, and that it is related to canō (“to sing”), perhaps through dissimilation of an earlier *canmen.[11] Bloch and Wartburg note that among the Romance languages only French has kept it.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 12th century it means a magic formula or spell: Il dit un charme que il avoit aprins (“he spoke a charm that he had learned”, Garin), and in the Livre des Rois David finds charmes with which he used to soothe pain.[7][11][4]

Semantic evolution

Rey describes the history of the word as a gradual weakening of the sense “magic formula”.[11] By metonymy it named the magic power itself and, in the 16th century, a magic object.[11] This strong sense survives in sous le charme, in le charme est rompu and in se porter comme un charme, to be in excellent health, as if under a good spell.[11][5]

From the 17th century it came to mean an attraction, a quality that pleases, found in Corneille in 1641;[11][9] les charmes had already named a woman's physical attractions (amoureux charmes, 1578), and avoir du charme and faire du charme date from 1817.[11] In 1964 it passed into physics to render English charm, a property of quarks.[11] The verb charmer (about 1150) followed the same path, from casting a spell to pleasing (1560), and so did charmant (1550, “delightful”, 1629–1630).[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1150 – The verb charmer, to cast a spell.[11]
  • c. 1160 – Charme “magic formula”.[4][11]
  • 16th century – A magic object.[11]
  • 1578 – Amoureux charmes, a woman's attractions.[11]
  • 1641 – Corneille: an attraction that draws one to someone.[9]
  • 1817 – Avoir du charme, faire du charme.[11]
  • 1964 – The physics sense, after English charm.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (old or in phrases) A magic spell, an enchantment: jeter un charme, être sous le charme, le charme est rompu, the illusion is over.[5][13][14]
  2. A magic object, an amulet.[5][9]
  3. An attractive quality that pleases; charm, appeal: avoir du charme, faire du charme, to turn on the charm.[5][14][11]
  4. (plural, dated) A woman's physical attractions.[7][11]
  5. (physics) Charm, a quantum number characteristic of certain quarks.[14][11]
  6. Se porter comme un charme: to be in excellent health.[5][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 406b
  7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 379a
  13. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  14. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)