coquemar

Forms

coquemar m (plural coquemars)^[1] Also spelled coquemard and cauquemarre.^[2] Littré quotes coquemart from Laborde and coquemard from Villon.^[3]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[4][5][6] Littré and the GLLF derive it from Latin cucuma (“cooking pot, cauldron”), and the FEW files it under that word;^[3][2][7] Rey also leans that way, while naming the Dutch alternative.^[8] The TLFi notes that a Byzantine Greek derivative of the Latin word would best explain Catalan cogomar in Old Catalan (1345), but fits badly with the area of the French word, in Picardy and Wallonia, and with the late record of Occitan (1479).^[4]

The other proposal is the rare Flemish word kookmoor, from koken (“to boil”) and moor (“Moor”), after the pot blackened by the hearth; compare Occitan maura “pot” and the Picard altered form coquenoire.^[4] The TLFi finds it a perfect fit for the area of the word, but it cannot explain the Catalan form.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1280, in accounts of the Chambre des Comptes in the Archives du Nord, for a kettle.^[4][8]

Semantic evolution

The word has named a kettle with a handle since the Middle Ages.^[8] In the 14th century the inventories published by Laborde list silver and enamelled coquemars with a lid and spout.^[3] The Académie in 1694 described it as a pot of glazed earthenware, copper, pewter or silver with a handle, for boiling water or tisane.^[9]

It has become archaic except in some regions and in Acadian French, where it means any kettle.^[8] coquelle (1750), a cast-iron pot of the Centre and the Franco-Provençal area, seems to be drawn from the stem of coquemar.^[8]

Timeline

• 1280 – First record, in the Archives du Nord.^[4][8]
• 14th century – Silver coquemars appear in inventories.^[3]
• 1694 – The Académie defines it.^[9]
• 1750 – Coquelle is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) A kettle of earthenware or metal with a handle, sometimes with a lid, a spout and feet.^[4][6][2]
2. The contents of such a kettle.^[4]
3. (Acadia, regional) A kettle in general.^[8]

Related words

• coquelle
• Latin cucuma

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1456b
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard