croiseur

Forms

croiseur m (plural croiseurs)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French croiser + -eur, from the nautical sense of the verb, “to cruise”.^[2][3][4][5] That sense is recorded from 1671;^[2] the verb itself is from French croix, first meaning “to lay crosswise”.^[2][6] The noun goes back to Latin crux, which Picoche thinks was taken from a Mediterranean language, perhaps Punic.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Furetière records it in 1690 as a naval term, for a warship sent out cruising.^[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first named any warship cruising on patrol, and it was also used as an adjective (vaisseau croiseur);^[7][2] Littré also gives it for the captain of such a ship.^[7][2] It then became the name of a class of fast warships that guard sea routes, scout for a fleet and escort convoys, now often armed with missiles.^[2][5][8]

In mining it has meant, since Littré in 1863, a vein that cuts across the main vein, also called filon croiseur.^[5][7] Littré also records it as a name of the tern, the “sea swallow”.^[7]

Timeline

• 1671 – Croiser is first used as a naval term.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records croiseur for a cruising warship.^[2][5]
• 1798 – The Académie's dictionary records the word.^[2]
• 1863 – Littré records the mining sense “cross vein”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cruiser, a fast warship used for surveillance, escort and protection at sea.^[8][9][2]
2. Croiseur de bataille, croiseur léger: a battle cruiser, a light cruiser.^[2][5]
3. (mining) A vein that crosses the main vein.^[5][7]
4. (obsolete) The tern.^[7]

Adjective

1. (dated) cruising, of a ship: un bâtiment croiseur.^[7][2]

Related words

• croiser
• croix
• croisière
• Latin crux

Usage notes

An older croiseur of 1579, a coin worker who marks the coins with a cross, is derived from croix in the sense of the cross stamped on coins, not from the naval verb.^[2][10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon