cible

Forms

cible f (plural cibles)^[1] First sible (1671), then cible (1693); the form cibe was used until the early 19th century and is still recorded by Boiste.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Alemannic German schîbe (“disc, windowpane, target”),^[4][3][5][6] the Swiss Alemannic counterpart of German Scheibe, taken into French through the Romance speech of western Switzerland: old texts from Fribourg have schibe “bottle-glass pane” in 1434 and siba “target for archery” in 1476.^[4][2][7] Wiktionary suggests the diminutive Schiibli as the source.^[1] Rey compares Old High German scība and Middle High German schībe, and attaches the group to a Germanic root meaning “to cut”.^[2]

The ⟨l⟩ of the French form is parasitic, and the spelling ⟨cibe⟩ did not prevail.^[4][2] The word reached the Lyon region, either through the fame of the Swiss shooting festivals or through festivals held jointly by towns of Switzerland and France,^[4][2] and spread from there in Napoleonic times.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as sible in 1671, in Pierre Louvet's history of Villefranche, the capital of Beaujolais, which tells of the Jeu de la Sible where people from Lyon, Mâcon and Bourg came to shoot for prizes.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Fribourg the Alemannic word was borrowed first for a flat round block of salt (1380), then for a bottle-glass windowpane and an archery target;^[4] French kept the target.^[4] It has been used figuratively since Balzac (before 1850), in phrases such as servir de cible and être la cible de.^[2][8]

More recently it entered physics and advertising, for the public a message is meant to reach, and translation, where langue cible renders English target language.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1380 – Old Fribourg schibe names a flat block of salt.^[4]
• 1434 – Old Fribourg schibe names a bottle-glass windowpane.^[4][2]
• 1476 – Old Fribourg siba names an archery target.^[4][2]
• 1671 – Sible appears in Pierre Louvet's history of Villefranche.^[4][2]
• 1693 – The form cible is recorded.^[4][3][5]
• 1728 – Cibarre “target marker” is formed on cibe.^[2]
• 1803 – Boiste records cibe and cible.^[4]
• Before 1850 – Balzac uses it figuratively.^[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A target for shooting, usually marked with concentric circles: tirer à la cible.^[9][10][4]
2. (figurative) The object of criticism or mockery: servir de cible.^[9][10]
3. (advertising) The public that a product or message is aimed at;^[9][10] cœur de cible, the core clientele.^[9][10]
4. In apposition, langue cible: the target language of a translation.^[10][2]
5. (physics, medicine) A body exposed to a bombardment of particles; in apposition, organe cible, cellule cible.^[9][10]

Word family

• cibler

Usage notes

The GLLF dates the word to the mid-14th century, from Guillaume de Machaut,^[8] but Littré held that Machaut's sible has nothing to do with cible.^[11] In Switzerland cibarre and ciblerie “place for targets” are still in use.^[2]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d 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 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
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 30a
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette