chevrier

Forms

chevrier m (plural chevriers, feminine chevrière)^[1] Old French chavrier (1241).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin caprārius (“goatherd”), from capra (“she-goat”), the source of chèvre.^{[4][5][2][6][7]}

Cognate with Italian capraio, Old Occitan cabrier, Catalan cabrer, Spanish cabrero, Portuguese cabreiro and Romanian căprar.^[5][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1241, as chavrier, in a cartulary of Saint-Vincent quoted by Godefroy, meaning a man who keeps goats.^[4][2][3] In the 13th century the Roman de Renart speaks of chiens à chevriers, goatherds' dogs.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the sense of the Latin, someone who takes goats to pasture; the feminine chevrière is a woman who keeps goats.^[6][8][4] In the 20th century chevrier also became the name of a variety of white haricot bean.^[3][10] It is also a French surname from the occupation.^[1]

Timeline

• 1241 – Chavrier in a cartulary of Saint-Vincent.^[4][2]
• 13th century – Chevriers in the Roman de Renart.^[8]
• 20th century – It names a variety of bean.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A goatherd, someone who takes goats to pasture; feminine chevrière.^[4][10][8]
2. A variety of white haricot bean.^[10][3]

Related words

• chèvre
• chevreau
• Latin caprārius

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final r is not sounded and that in the plural the s is linked before a vowel.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 303b
8. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert