chiffe

Forms

chiffe f (plural chiffes)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chipe (“rag”) (1306), altered under the influence of chiffre in its Old French sense “thing or person of no value” (1223).^[2][3][4][5] The Old French word is borrowed from Middle English chip (“small piece, chip of wood”).^[2][3] The Middle English noun, recorded about 1300, is derived from the verb meaning “to cut into small pieces”.^[2][3][6] Bloch and Wartburg think the change of form took place in Normandy.^[4] The older form remained in use in the north-west of France (Maine, Vendômois).^[2][4]

Etymonline traces the English noun chip to Old English cipp (“small piece of wood”).^[7] Littré reviewed several older guesses (a Walloon or an Arabic source) and found Génin's link with the older form the most plausible.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first indirectly attested in 1564 by the Norman chifetier, a man who collected and cried rags.^[2][3][4] Cotgrave records chiffe itself in 1611 for a piece of worn cloth, a rag.^[2][9] The older chipe appears in Guillaume Guiart (1306): Qui n'iert mie vestuz de chippes “who was not at all dressed in rags”.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The concrete senses, a worn piece of cloth and poor-quality fabric (1710), passed early to the derivative chiffon (1609), which took them over in the 17th century.^[3][2] Chiffe kept mainly the figurative, pejorative sense of a person without character (1798), in chiffe molle and mou comme une chiffe.^[3][2][6] In 1810 it also named the rag-picker's trade.^[2]

Timeline

• 1306 – The older form chipe “rag” is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1564 – The Norman chifetier “rag-picker” appears.^[2][4]
• 1609 – The derivative chiffon is recorded.^[3]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records chiffe.^[2][9]
• 1710 – The Académie gives the sense “poor-quality fabric”.^[2]
• 1798 – The Académie records the figurative sense “weak-willed person”.^[2][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) Poor-quality fabric; a worn piece of cloth, a rag.^[6][10][2]
2. (familiar, figurative) A person with no energy or strength of character, a wimp: chiffe molle, mou comme une chiffe.^[6][10][1]

Word family

• chiffon
• chiffonner
• chiffonnier

Related words

• chiper
• chipoter

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)