collage

Forms

collage m (plural collages)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French coller + -age.^{[2][3][1][4][5]} The verb coller (1375) is derived from colle “glue”, which comes from Vulgar Latin *colla, from Ancient Greek κόλλα (kólla, “glue”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1544 in the papermakers' statutes, in collage du papier, the sizing of paper with glue so that it does not absorb ink.^[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

From papermaking the word spread to the general act of gluing (1829, Boiste) and to the clarification of wine (1845, Bescherelle).^[6] In popular speech it named the union of a man and a woman living together unmarried: the Goncourts use it in their Journal in 1860,^[2] and Zola uses it in 1886 for the partner in such a union.^[2]

In the early 20th century it became the name of a work of art made of materials glued onto a canvas, practised by the cubists and surrealists,^[6][2] and by extension an assemblage of disparate elements.^[2] English borrowed the art term in 1919.^[8]

Timeline

• 1544 – Collage du papier in the papermakers' statutes.^[2][6]
• 1829 – Boiste records the general sense “gluing”.^[6]
• 1844 – Brongniart uses it in ceramics.^[2]
• 1845 – Bescherelle records the clarification of wine.^[6]
• 1860 – The Goncourts use it for cohabitation without marriage.^[2]
• 1861 – Larchey records this sense.^[6]
• Early 20th century – Used of a work of art made of glued materials.^[6]
• 1919 – English borrows it as an art term.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of gluing things; the state of what is glued, as in le collage du poster a pris une minute.^[9][2][10]
2. (art) A collage: a composition of varied materials, often cut paper, glued onto a canvas or worked into a painting.^{[9][2][10][6]}
3. By extension, an assemblage of disparate elements, as in a narrative or a character.^[2]
4. (papermaking) The sizing of paper with glue so that ink does not run; encollage.^[2][11][9]
5. (winemaking) The fining of wine: clarifying it with a substance, such as egg white or isinglass, that settles and carries the suspended particles down.^{[2][9][10][11]}
6. (ceramics) The joining of two pieces with thick slip.^[2]
7. (popular) The situation of a man and a woman living together without being married; rarely, the partner in such a union.^[2][9][10]

Related words

• décollage
• coller
• colle
• encollage
• English collage

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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, 912b
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette