coudre

coudre¹ hazel

Pronunciation

• /kudʁ/^[1]

Forms

coudre m (plural coudres)^[2] Old French coldre, codre, then coudre (about 1179).^[3][4]

Etymology

The word for the hazel is inherited from Old French coldre, inherited from Vulgar Latin *colurus, the Latin of Gaul,^[4][5][6] an alteration of Latin corylus (“hazel”), itself a Hellenizing spelling of corulus.^[3][4][5] The change is put down to the influence of Gaulish *collo, from *coslo, the Gaulish word of the same meaning.^[3][4][7][5]

The word survived only in the dialects of northern France and in a few dialects of northern Italy and the Rhaeto-Romance area; elsewhere words from Latin abellāna (“hazelnut”) took over, as the cultivated hazelnut spread.^[5][4] The Picard form is caure, and Old Occitan coldra meant a barrel hoop.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as coldre in the Judeo-French glosses of Rashi in the 11th century, for the hazel tree.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Marie de France has codre in her Lai du chèvrefeuille (1160–1170), and noiz de coudre “hazelnut” is found in the Roman de Renart about 1179.^[3] The derivative coudrier (1503) has taken its place, and the dictionaries call coudre old from the 19th century, the Académie's Complément of 1842 first.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 11th century – Coldre appears in the glosses of Rashi.^[3]
• 1160–1170 – Marie de France writes codre.^[3]
• c. 1179 – Noiz de coudre “hazelnut” in the Roman de Renart.^[3]
• 1186 – The derivative coudraie is recorded as coldraie.^[4]
• 1503 – coudrier is first recorded, as couldrier.^[3][5]
• 1842 – The Académie's Complément labels coudre old.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic) The hazel tree, the noisetier.^[7][9]

Word family

• coudrier
• coudraie
• coudrette

coudre² to sew

Pronunciation

• /kudʁ/^[1]

Forms

coudre^[1] Old French coldre, cosdre.^[3][1]

Etymology

The verb meaning “to sew” is inherited from Old French coldre, inherited from Vulgar Latin *cosere,^[3][4][10] remade from Latin cōnsuō (“to sew together”) after a popular first person singular that had replaced the classical one.^[5][4] The classical verb is made of con- and suō (“to sew”).^[4][2] The original Old French infinitive was *cousre, in which a /d/ grew between the consonants, and the /s/ before it fell silent; the ⟨d⟩ of the present tense is analogical.^[1][9] The /s/ of the stem still shows in other forms of the verb, such as the imperfect and the past participle.^[9]

Cognate with Italian cucire, Spanish coser, Portuguese coser, Catalan cosir, Occitan coser and Romanian coase.^[11][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as coldre about 1160 in the Roman d'Eneas, meaning to join with a thread passed through with a needle.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Wace (1160–1170) it also meant “to fix, to run through”, the origin of later technical uses such as coudre un treillage (1845).^[3] The sense “to bind” lies behind bouche cousue (end of the 15th century),^[4][3] and cousu de fil blanc “obvious, easy to see through” is recorded from 1677; both are still in use.^[4]

Molière used it in 1661 for putting together the parts of a play without art, a figurative sense that gave technical uses in bookbinding, fishing and surgery.^[3][4] Machine à coudre (1857) has remained the only name for the sewing machine.^[4] The past participle gave familiar une toute cousue “a factory-made cigarette” (1926) and du cousu main “first-rate work” (1947).^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Coldre “to sew” in the Roman d'Eneas.^[3]
• 12th century – recoudre is recorded, and découdre in 1175.^[4]
• Late 15th century – Bouche cousue appears.^[3][4]
• 1661 – Molière uses it of assembling a play.^[3]
• 1677 – Cousu de fil blanc is recorded by Miège.^[3]
• 1835 – Coudre quelqu'un dans un linceul in Balzac.^[3]
• 1857 – Machine à coudre is recorded.^[3][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sew, to join or fix with stitches made with a needle and thread: elle a cousu une poche à sa veste.^[11][12][13]
2. To make a garment by sewing its pieces together.^[11]
3. (intransitive) To do sewing: elle coud le soir.^[13]
4. (surgery) To close a wound with sutures.^[7]
5. To put together without art, to string together.^[3][7]
6. Bouche cousue “keep it quiet”, also cousu de fil blanc “too obvious to deceive anyone”.^[4][3]

Word family

• découdre
• recoudre
• cousette
• cousu