coussin

Forms

coussin m (plural coussins)^[1] Old French cuisin (first half of the 12th century), coissin (about 1160) and cousin (about 1178).^[2][3] Coissin was still in use in the 16th century.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French coissin, inherited from Late Latin coxinus (“cushion”), a Late Latin derivative of coxa (“hip, thigh”) (the source of cuisse), because cushions were first made for benches and chairs.^[2][3][5] Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Petit Robert give the Latin word as unrecorded, *coxinus.^[4][6][7] Its ending may be due to pulvīnus (“cushion, pillow”).^[2][3][4] Littré had derived it from a diminutive of Latin culcita (“mattress, cushion”), the source of couette¹.^[8]

Bloch and Wartburg call the word Gallo-Romance only: Italian cuscino and Spanish cojín were borrowed from French.^[4] Littré cites the Walloon (Namur) dialect form cosin.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as cuisin in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne (first half of the 12th century), for a padded cushion.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The everyday furnishing word kept its sense from Old French on;^[8][3] Littré quotes coissin beside coute and oreiller among the bedding of 13th-century texts.^[8][3] By likeness of use it took special senses in medicine, seafaring, lacemaking and mechanics.^[3] From 1690 (Furetière) it named any padding that protects against rubbing, such as the stuffed part of a horse collar.^[6][8] The phrase en coussin describes, in the natural sciences, something soft and rounded like a cushion.^[3]

In Belgium and Luxembourg coussin can mean “pillow”; this use is recorded in Switzerland from the 14th century, where long coussin once meant a bolster.^[3][7] Quebec French says coussin gonflable where European French uses the anglicism airbag, and in African French coussin de tête is the twisted pad on which loads are carried on the head.^[3]

Timeline

• first half of the 12th century – Cuisin appears in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.^[2]
• c. 1160 – Coissin is found in the Roman d'Eneas.^[2][5]
• c. 1178 – Cousin is found in the Roman de Renart.^[2][5]
• 13th century – The diminutive coussinet is first recorded.^[4]
• 14th century – Swiss French uses it for “pillow”.^[3]
• 16th century – The form coissin is still in use;^[4][2] couissinière “cushion cover” is recorded in a southern account book.^[4][2]
• 1690 – Furetière records its use for padding that protects against rubbing.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cushion: a soft cover filled with stuffing, used to sit or lean on, for example Elle a glissé un coussin derrière son dos.^[7][2]
2. (Belgium) A pillow.^[7][3]
3. (technical) A padded part or device recalling a cushion, such as the padding of a horse collar.^[7][8]
4. Coussin d'air: an air cushion.^[7][3]
5. (Quebec) Coussin gonflable: an airbag.^[3]

Word family

• coussinet
• coussinière

Related words

• cuisse
• couette¹
• Latin coxa

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette