cocon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ.kɔ̃/^[1]

Forms

cocon m (plural cocons)^[1] Coucon (1600, still recorded in 1752), coccon (1653); Féraud (1787) notes coquon, couquon and coucon.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Occitan coucoun (“eggshell; cocoon”),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} a derivative of coco (“shell”), of the same origin as coque.^[2][3][4][1] Its first user, Olivier de Serres, wrote of the silkworms of the Cévennes in Languedoc.^[6]

Littré still thought it a derivative of “coque” made in French, and cites a Medieval Latin “coconus” “stopper” from Du Cange.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Olivier de Serres (1600) uses coucon for the silk envelope of the silkworm: worms fed on black mulberry leaves make coucons ou piotons grands et mols (“large, soft cocoons”).^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word names the silky envelope that the caterpillars of some moths spin before turning into a chrysalis, the silkworm's above all, and by extension a similar envelope made by spiders for their eggs.^[3][7] Figuratively it suggests a soft, protective retreat: s'enfermer dans son cocon is to shut oneself away.^[3][6][8]

English took cocoon from the French word in the 17th century, and about 1988 French borrowed back cocooning from it.^[3] In popular speech cocon once meant the head, by attraction of coco.^[3]

Timeline

• 1600 – Coucon in Olivier de Serres.^[2][4]
• 1653 – Coccon (Oudin).^[2][7]
• 1694 – Recorded by the Académie.^[2]
• 1752 – Coucon is still recorded by the Trévoux dictionary.^[2]
• c. 1988 – The anglicism cocooning appears.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (zoology) A cocoon, the silk envelope spun by some caterpillars to turn into a chrysalis.^[8][1]
2. The silk sac in which some spiders wrap their eggs.^[7][9]
3. (figurative) A sheltered, protective retreat: se retirer dans son cocon.^[8][9]

Related words

• coque
• English cocoon

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)