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
- The sky: un ciel étoilé; plural ciels for its aspects: les ciels de Turner.[9][10]
- (astronomy) The space in which the heavenly bodies move.[2][8]
- heaven, the abode of God and the blessed; plural cieux: Notre Père qui es aux cieux.[3][1]
- Le Ciel: God, Providence: grâce au ciel, juste ciel !.[3][1]
- (literary, plural cieux) A climate, a country: sous d'autres cieux.[10]
- 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
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 34b
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert