chenu

Forms

chenu (feminine chenue, masculine plural chenus, feminine plural chenues)^[1] Old French canu, canuthe (feminine), then chenu (about 1175).^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also had chanu, chanut and canut.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin cānūtus (“grey, white-haired”), from Latin cānus (“white, grey”), used especially of hair and figuratively for “old, wise”.^{[2][3][5][6][7]} The Latin form may be attested once in Plautus, of a fish, and then in Medieval Latin, perhaps from the 6th century, for whitened hair.^[2][3] Rey sees in the Latin adjective a Western Indo-European adjective, comparing Old High German hasan (“shining”) and Old Norse hǫss (“grey”).^[3]

Cognate with Italian canuto, Old Occitan canut, Catalan canut, Spanish canudo and Romanian cărunt.^[5][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is barbe canuthe “a white beard” in the Vie de saint Alexis (11th century), meaning white with age; the Chanson de Roland calls Charlemagne canuz et vielz.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century the word could also mean “bare, stripped”,^[2][3] hence arbre chenu, a tree whose crown is bare, recorded by the Académie in 1835, which also noted that the word was going out of use.^[2][10] It has remained a literary word.^[3][10]

In slang it meant “good” from 1628, through the idea of wine improved by age, and vin chenu is recorded in 1718.^[2][3] Littré still knew du chenu for “something excellent” in popular speech.^[9][3]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Barbe canuthe appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2][3][11]
• c. 1175 – Chrétien de Troyes uses the form chenu.^[2]
• 13th century – The sense “bare, stripped” appears.^[2]
• 1628 – Slang uses it for “good”.^[2][3]
• 1718 – Vin chenu is recorded in Leroux's Dictionnaire comique.^[2]
• 1835 – The Académie records arbre chenu.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) White or grey with age, hoary, said of a person, the hair or the beard.^[10][2][1]
2. (literary) Of a tree: old, with a bare crown.^[10][9]
3. (literary) Covered with snow, white as with age.^[9][1]
4. (dated, slang) Excellent, good, especially of an old wine.^[9][2]

Word family

• chenument

Related words

• canitie
• Latin cānus

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b 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, 239a
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse