ciel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sjɛl/^[1]

Forms

ciel m (plural cieux or ciels)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin caelum (“vault of the sky; abode of the gods; vault, ceiling”), written “celum” and “coelum” in Late Latin.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The origin of the Latin word is uncertain: it has been linked with caedō (“to cut”), the sky being divided into regions by the augurs, and Wiktionary derives it from a Proto-Indo-European “*keh₂i-lom” “whole”.^[3][1] The plural cieux is the old oblique case; the Christian plural “caelī” was modelled on Hebrew “šāmayim”, itself a plural.^[6][4][3]

Cognate with Italian cielo, Occitan cel, Catalan cel, Spanish cielo, Portuguese céu and Romanian cer.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie (about 881), meaning the abode of God and of souls after death.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The three Latin senses passed into French.^[3] The religious one gave, by metonymy, “Providence, God” in par faveur du ciel and the exclamation ô Ciel ! (Montchrestien, 1604), and phrases such as aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera.^[2][3] The vault of the sky is in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050); until the 16th century les ciels were also the transparent spheres to which the stars were thought to be fixed, whence le septième ciel.^[2][8]

The technical sense “vault, ceiling” gave the canopy over a table (after 1350) or a bed, and the roof of a quarry (1676), whence à ciel ouvert “open-air”.^[2][3] Bleu ciel “sky blue” dates from 1844.^[3] Arc-en-ciel replaced the older arc del ciel (1150–1170).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 881 – “Heaven” in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie.^[2]
• c. 1050 – “The sky”, in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2]
• Late 14th century – A canopy, in Eustache Deschamps.^[2]
• 1604 – Ô Ciel ! in Montchrestien.^[2]
• 1676 – Les ciels d'une carrière, in Félibien.^[2]
• 1844 – Bleu ciel.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The sky: un ciel étoilé; plural ciels for its aspects: les ciels de Turner.^[9][10]
2. (astronomy) The space in which the heavenly bodies move.^[2][8]
3. heaven, the abode of God and the blessed; plural cieux: Notre Père qui es aux cieux.^[3][1]
4. Le Ciel: God, Providence: grâce au ciel, juste ciel !.^[3][1]
5. (literary, plural cieux) A climate, a country: sous d'autres cieux.^[10]
6. A canopy over a bed or throne; the roof of a quarry or mine: à ciel ouvert.^[1][3]

Related words

• céleste
• arc-en-ciel
• Latin caelum

Usage notes

The plural ciels is used for real multiplicity or aspects and for the technical senses, cieux is a collective plural with a religious or poetic tone, and is the only one used in sous d'autres cieux.^[10][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 34b
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert