chevron

Forms

chevron m (plural chevrons)^[1] Old French kievron (mid-12th century), chevrun (1160–1174) and, in heraldry, cheveron.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *capriō (“rafter”),^[2][3][4] derived from *capreus,^[2][3][5][6] which was formed after Latin capreolus (“young roe deer, prop, rafter”) and caprea (“wild goat”).^[2][3] The Petit Robert and the Grand Robert also allow *caprō, from capra (“goat”);^[4][7] the Kassel Glosses have capriuns (late 8th or early 9th century) and a document of 861 caprones.^[2][8] Etymonline relates the image to the angled hind legs of the goat.^[9]

Cognate with Old Occitan cabrion, Spanish cabrio and Picard caveron.^[8][2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as kievron in the mid-12th century, in the Débat de l'âme et du corps, for a timber fixed on the slope of a roof, a rafter.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In heraldry cheveron named about 1275 a figure of two bands joined at the top like an inverted V.^[2][7] By likeness of shape the word was used for the inverted-V stripe sewn on a soldier's sleeve to mark years of service (1771);^[10][3][7] Bloch and Wartburg think this sense came through heraldry.^[10] From there came chevronné “experienced” (1837), from the sense “having seniority stripes”.^[3] In the 20th century it also named a zigzag pattern in cloth, as in veste à chevrons.^[3][7]

English borrowed the heraldic word in the late 14th century.^[9]

Timeline

• Mid-12th century – Kievron “rafter” in the Débat de l'âme et du corps.^[2]
• 1160–1174 – Chevrun in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[2]
• c. 1210 – The form chevron in the Narbonnais.^[2]
• c. 1275 – Adenet le Roi uses cheveron in heraldry.^[2]
• 1771 – The sense “stripe on a uniform”.^[10][3]
• Late 14th century – English chevron in heraldry.^[9]
• 1837 – Chevronné takes the sense “having seniority stripes”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (construction) A rafter: a squared timber set on the slope of a roof, to which the laths carrying the roof covering are fixed.^[7][2]
2. (heraldry) A chevron, an inverted-V figure on a shield.^[7][11]
3. On a uniform's sleeve, a stripe shaped like an inverted V, marking rank or length of service.^[7][2]
4. A zigzag pattern, especially in cloth: un manteau à chevrons.^[7][2]

Word family

• chevronné
• chevronner

Related words

• chèvre
• chevreuil
• Latin capra

Usage notes

Littré lists two minor words of the same spelling: a fishing term for the spawn of fish, and a trade term for kids' hair, which he relates to chevreau.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 306a
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1650
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
11. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse