Etymologically
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connerie

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Pronunciation

Forms

connerie f (plural conneries)[1] Recorded as conn'ri' in 1865.[2]

Etymology

It is from French con + -erie.[2][3][4][1] The noun con continues Latin cunnus (“female genitals”) (about 1195–1200);[2][5][6] its figurative use for a fool, as an adjective first recorded in a letter from Mérimée to Stendhal (1831), is probably a remaking of conard (13th century).[2][4] Rey calls the Latin word of obscure origin, comparing Ancient Greek κύσθος (kústhos).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert finds it in Flaubert's correspondence (1845), probably with an erotic meaning.[3]

Semantic evolution

The TLFi's first record is conn'ri' in the Chanson de Mouchebœuf (1865), quoted by Lorédan Larchey in 1873.[2] The GLLF dates its common senses to Bauche's dictionary of popular French (1920), and Barbusse uses des conneries for foolish talk.[7] Familiar and vulgar, it is now in very wide use for any stupid act or remark, Prévert's Quelle connerie la guerre and Michel Audiard's film dialogue made it famous.[4]

Timeline

  • 1831 – Con “idiot”, Mérimée.[2]
  • 1845 – Connerie, Flaubert.[3]
  • 1865 – Conn'ri', Chanson de Mouchebœuf.[2]
  • 1920 – Recorded by Bauche.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (familiar, vulgar) stupidity, idiocy.[4][1]
  2. (familiar, vulgar) A stupid act or remark; a blunder: faire, dire des conneries, arrête tes conneries.[4][2]
  3. (familiar, vulgar) Nonsense, rubbish: tout ça c'est des conneries.[4][1]
  • con
  • conard
  • connard

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse