coude

Forms

coude m (plural coudes)^[1] Old French cute (about 1121), cote (1165–1170) and code (13th century); coude is recorded from 1387–1391.^[2][3] Old French also had coute.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French cute, inherited from Latin cubitus (“bend of the arm, curve, cubit”).^{[3][2][6][1][7]} The ancients connected the Latin word with cubō (“to lie down”), but Rey thinks this may be a folk etymology; a parallel Greek form Ancient Greek κύβιτον (kúbiton) is Sicilian, either borrowed from Latin or of the same southern Italian origin.^[2] The anatomical term cubitus is a learned doublet.^[1]

Cognate with Occitan code, Catalan colze and Spanish codo;^[4] Littré also cites Picard keute and Berry code.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1135) has cute in the sense “cubit”, the length of a forearm.^[3][2] The anatomical sense, the joint of the arm, follows in Chrétien de Troyes' Erec et Enide (1165–1170), le destre cote.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th century the measure was left to the derivative coudée, and coude kept the joint of the arm.^[2][3] Middle French gave phrases in which literal and figurative senses meet: jusqu'au coude and, figuratively, y être jusques aux coutes (15th century).^[3][2] Plier le coude (late 16th century) and then lever le coude (1752) meant to drink a lot;^[3][2] coude à coude is recorded before 1755, in Saint-Simon.^[3][2]

By metonymy it named the part of a sleeve covering the elbow (before 1660, Scarron).^[3][2] From its shape it named the angle of a tool (1611, Cotgrave), any obtuse angle of a wall or road (1690, Furetière) and a bent length of pipe that changes the direction of a conduit (1694).^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1121–1135 – Cute “cubit” appears in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire.^[3]
• 1165–1170 – Chrétien de Troyes uses cote for the elbow.^[3]
• 13th century – The form code is recorded.^[3]
• 1387–1391 – Gaston Phébus writes coude.^[3]
• Late 16th century – Plier le coude “to drink a lot” appears.^[3]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the angle of a tool.^[3]
• 1690 – Furetière records a bend in a wall or road.^[3]
• 1694 – Thomas Corneille records the pipe elbow.^[3][8]
• 1752 – Lever le coude is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The elbow, the outer part of the arm where it bends: s'appuyer sur le coude.^[9][10]
2. The part of a sleeve that covers the elbow.^[3][10]
3. A bend or angle in a wall, road or river.^[3][8]
4. A bent length of pipe, an elbow joint.^[3][1]
5. Lever le coude: to drink a lot.^[9][10]
6. Huile de coude: physical effort, elbow grease.^[9][10]
7. Coude à coude: side by side, and figuratively in close solidarity.^[9][8]
8. Jouer des coudes: to push one's way through a crowd, and figuratively to scheme at others' expense.^[9]
9. Garder un dossier sous le coude: to keep a file waiting.^[9]

Word family

• couder
• coudière
• coudoyer
• accouder
• coudée

Related words

• cubitus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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
4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1447a
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert