couronner

Forms

couronner^[1] Old French coroner, coruner and coronner; the spelling couronner is from 1393.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is probably a derivative from French couronne, after Latin corōnō (“to crown, wreathe, surround”).^[2][5][6] Wiktionary and the GLLF derive it directly from the Latin verb.^[1][7] The Latin verb meant "to put a crown on to adorn" and "to surround"; in Imperial Latin it was used of crowning a victor and, figuratively, of rewarding, a sense the Christian writers took up as "to honour";^[2][6] Late Latin used it for crowning as a sign of power, and Medieval Latin for "to tonsure" (893).^[2][6]

Cognate with Italian coronare, Occitan coronar, Catalan coronar, Spanish coronar and Portuguese coroar.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the past participle coronat "tonsured" in the Life of Saint Leger (late 10th century), as the Chanson de Roland calls Archbishop Turpin a coronet.^[2][6][9]

Semantic evolution

From the medieval "to tonsure" the verb took the senses "to honour" (mid-12th century), "to proclaim and crown a sovereign" (1155, Wace) and "to adorn with a crown" (about 1150).^[2][6] About 1200 it meant "declared supreme", and late in the 13th century coroné was used of someone rewarded with a prize;^[2][6] Richelet records couronner "to award a prize" in 1680.^[2][6]

Oresme used it in 1361 for crowning as a mark of honour.^[2] The abstract sense "to complete, perfect" dates from the 16th century and is sometimes ironic, as in pour couronner le tout.^[6][2] A horse with genoux couronnés has a round wound on the knee (about 1393), and a tree couronné is dying back at the top (1690).^[2] Of things, it came to mean "to surround" (before 1566) and "to stand above, dominate" (1680).^[2] In the French of Polynesia it means to put a garland of flowers round someone's neck in welcome.^[6]

English crown comes from the Old French verb coroner.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 980 – The participle coronat "tonsured" appears in the Life of Saint Leger.^[2][6]
• c. 1150 – Coronner "to adorn with a crown" is used in the Roman de Thèbes.^[2]
• 1155 – Wace uses coroner for crowning a sovereign.^[2][6]
• c. 1165 – Couronnement is recorded as coronement.^[6]
• 1361 – Oresme uses it for crowning as a mark of honour.^[2]
• c. 1393 – Genoux couronnés is used of a horse's injured knees.^[2]
• 1578 – Grévin uses it for "to perfect".^[2]
• 1661 – Corneille uses tête couronnée.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records "to award a prize" and "to overhang".^[2]
• 1845 – Couronner un arbre "to prune a tree into a crown" is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To put a crown or a wreath on someone's head, especially as a mark of honour or reward.^[3][2]
2. To award a prize to someone or something: un roman couronné par l'Académie.^[3][2]
3. To proclaim someone sovereign by placing the crown on their head, to crown.^[3][1]
4. Of a thing, to surround or top something like a crown: une tour couronne la colline.^[3][2]
5. To complete or perfect something; ironically, pour couronner le tout "to cap it all".^[3][6]
6. (dentistry) To fit a tooth with a crown.^[11][7]

Word family

• couronnement
• découronner

Related words

• couronne
• Latin corōnō
• English crown

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 q r s t u v w x 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF