Etymologically
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cravate

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kʁa.vat/[1]

Forms

cravate f (plural cravates)[1]

Etymology

It is the same word as the ethnic name Cravate “Croat”, recorded from 1573 as an adjective and later replaced by croate.[2][3][4] Cravate is an adaptation either of Slavic Serbo-Croatian Hrvat (“Croat”) or of dialectal German Krawat, while croate was taken from standard German Kroate.[2][3][5][6] The name passed to the band of cloth that Croatian horsemen in French service wore round their necks;[3][7][8] Ménage dated the fashion to 1636, during the German wars.[3]

From French come Italian cravatta, Spanish corbata and English cravat.[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first meant a Croatian mercenary in the French light cavalry (Voiture, before 1648), whence the regiment of Royal-Cravate under Louis XIV.[2][5] The neckband sense is recorded about 1649–1651, at first sometimes masculine.[5][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The garment replaced the falling collar about 1670; it was wound twice round the neck with lace-trimmed ends,[2] and after the battle of Steenkerque (1692) it became the fashion to wear it loosely “à la Steinkerque”.[2] The modern necktie took shape about 1907.[2][5] The cavalry sense also gave a name to a sturdy horse of the Croatian breed (1678).[2][5]

Slang and familiar uses play on something round the neck: a wrestling hold round the neck (1877),[2] cravate de chanvre “the hangman's rope”,[8] and s'en jeter un derrière la cravate “to knock back a drink”.[1][7]

Timeline

  • 1573 – Cravate “Croat” as an adjective.[2]
  • before 1648 – Voiture uses it of Croatian cavalrymen.[2][5]
  • 1649 – First record as a neckband.[5][4]
  • 1666 – The Royal-Cravate regiment.[2]
  • 1678 – A horse of the Croatian breed.[2][5]
  • 1823 – The verb cravater.[3]
  • 1907 – The modern necktie sense in Larousse.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A necktie.[7][10]
  2. A band of cloth worn round the neck; a cravat.[7][8]
  3. (wrestling) A headlock.[1][2]
  4. A ribbon tied to a flagstaff below the flag.[8][10]
  5. (Quebec) A canoe stuck on a rock.[1]

Word family

  • cravater

Usage notes

The older masculine un cravate, a Croatian cavalryman or a horse of Croatian breed, is historical only.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 395b
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale