ciment

Forms

ciment m (plural ciments)^[1] Old French ciment and cimant;^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also cement and siment.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ciment, inherited from Latin caementum.^[4][5][6][7] The Latin noun is derived from caedō (“to cut, break”).^[4][5][2] It first meant a stone: rough, unhewn stone for Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF, natural stone for the Grand Robert, but a cut stone or cut marble for Rey.^[7][8][9][5] It then came to mean “mortar”, because the Romans mixed the chips of stone into their mortar.^[4][7][8]

The ⟨i⟩ of the first syllable is irregular: the TLFi explains it as probably due to dissimilation,^[4] Rey supposes a form Vulgar Latin *cĕmentum,^[5] and Bloch and Wartburg think the change may already be Latin.^[7] cément is a learned doublet.^[5][7]

Cognate with Italian cimento, Spanish cimiento (“foundation”), Portuguese cimento and Occitan cimen.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie (1165–1170) as a building material.^[4][5] The Anglo-Norman dictionary glosses early uses as “bitumen, pitch” and “mortar”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The old cement was crushed tile or brick mixed with lime to bind stones; the modern sense is a grey powder of lime and silica that hardens when mixed with water.^[4][2] In 1680 Richelet uses it of any paste that binds, which led to special uses in geology and in dentistry.^[4][5][8]

From the late 16th century (Amyot) it is used figuratively of whatever unites people or things, often with the idea of firmness found in bâtir à chaux et à ciment.^[4][5][8] The verb cimenter dates from 1287 and is figurative from 1595.^[5] The English word cement was borrowed from the Old French word about 1300.^[10]

Timeline

• 1165–1170 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it in the Roman de Troie.^[4][5]
• 1287 – The verb cimenter is recorded.^[5]
• c. 1300 – English borrows the word as cement.^[10]
• late 15th century – Cymentier “cement maker” is found.^[4][5]
• before 1593 – Amyot uses it figuratively of a bond.^[4]
• 1680 – Richelet uses it of any binding paste.^[4][8]
• 1877 – Cimentaire is recorded.^[4][5]
• 1953 – Cimenterie “cement works” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. cement: a powder of lime and clay or silica which, mixed with water, forms a paste that hardens and binds building materials: un mur en ciment.^[4][11][8]
2. (obsolete) Crushed tiles or bricks mixed with lime to make mortar: bâtir à chaux et à ciment.^[4][2]
3. (dentistry) A material used to fill cavities or fix a prosthesis.^[11]
4. (literary) That which unites or binds people or things: le ciment d'une amitié.^[4][11]

Word family

• cimenter
• cimentier
• cimenterie
• cimentaire

Related words

• cément
• Latin caementum
• English cement

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 36a
7. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert