cric

Forms

cric m (plural crics)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle High German kriec (“engine for aiming and turning heavy war machines or lifting loads”), first as a term of military engineering, for a crossbow jack.^[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg also cite Middle Low German krich.^[4] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert present the German origin as only possible.^[6][7] Wiktionary reports that the German word is usually connected with the adjective kriege (“recalcitrant”), itself related to the noun for “war”.^[1] The TLFi, the DHLF and Bloch and Wartburg add that the word was probably later associated with the onomatopoeia of cric-crac, for the noise of the pawl dropping into the teeth of the rack.^[2][3][4] Littré had proposed either that onomatopoeia or the name of Saint Cricq (Quiricus).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1447, cric d'arbaleste, in the accounts of King René, for the windlass used to span a crossbow;^[2][9] it occurs only as a military term during the 15th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From a winch for war engines the word came to name any lifting jack with a rack and crank, used by carpenters and masons;^[2][4] in coachbuilding it also named the toothed iron piece that kept a carriage's suspension strap taut.^[8] Today it is a term of mechanics, common in car repair (cric d'automobile, worked by a screw).^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1447 – Cric d'arbaleste appears in the accounts of King René.^[2]
• 1476 – Crils d'Alemaigne “German jacks” are recorded.^[2]
• 15th century – The word is found only as a military term.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A jack, a device with a rack or screw and a crank for lifting heavy loads a short height, such as a car: un cric hydraulique.^[7][2]
2. (dated, coachbuilding) A toothed iron piece keeping a carriage's suspension strap taut.^[8]

Related words

• cric-crac

Usage notes

Littré gives the pronunciation /kri/ with silent ⟨c⟩; the GLLF allows /kri/ or /krik/.^[8][9] The Grand Robert's second cric (19th century, 1877 in Zola's L'Assommoir) is a familiar, dated word for bad brandy, of uncertain origin, perhaps a metaphor from the jack because spirits “lift you up”.^[6] Littré's second cric is the onomatopoeia for the sound of something tearing (as in cric-crac), and his third an occasional spelling of criss.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 387a
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse