coterie

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ.tʁi/^[1]

Forms

coterie f (plural coteries)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed with the suffix -erie on the stem of cotier (about 1283), a feudal term for a peasant holding a small tenure or for the rent paid on it, preceded by Medieval Latin coteria (Rouen, 1255) and coterius (Domesday Book, 1086).^[2][3][4] Cotier comes from an Old French word for “hut”, reconstructed from Norman place names such as Vaucottes, as well as from the derivative cotin (“little house”),^[2][3][5] which goes back to Frankish *kot (“hut”) in eastern Normandy and Picardy and to the matching Old Norse kot in western Normandy.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg give only the Norse source;^[5] Wiktionary derives the Medieval Latin word from Old English cot.^[1] The same Germanic word is behind English cottage.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are Picard customary law: Medieval Latin coteria “small rural tenure” (1255) and French terre tenue en coterie (1376), land held by a non-noble tenure.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

By metonymy it came to mean the association of peasants holding such land together from the same lord (Cotgrave, 1611).^[2][3] About the middle of the 17th century it spread to any circle of people who meet familiarly or support each other's interests (Oudin, 1660);^[2][3][8] La Bruyère uses it, and the Académie in 1694 has il est de sa coterie.^[8] The pejorative sense “clique” is explicit by 1808, when Hautel calls it a term of contempt for a band of intriguers,^[2] though the neutral sense lived on, as in Proust's petite coterie of the Verdurins.^[3]

Timeline

• 1086 – Medieval Latin coterius in the Domesday Book.^[2][4]
• 1255 – Coteria “small tenure” at Rouen.^[2][4]
• 1376 – Terre tenue en coterie.^[2][3]
• 1611 – An association of peasant tenants (Cotgrave).^[2][4]
• 1660 – A circle of familiar acquaintances (Oudin).^[2][8]
• 1808 – Explicitly pejorative.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (pejorative) A clique, a small group supporting each other's interests: coterie littéraire.^[9][2]
2. (literary) A circle of people who meet familiarly.^[8][2]
3. (feudal history) A peasant community holding land from a lord; land held by such a tenure.^[2][1]

Related words

• English coterie
• English cottage

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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert