culotte

Forms

culotte f (plural culottes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French cul + -otte, the diminutive suffix;^[2][3][1] Wiktionary takes it as the feminine counterpart of culot, and Littré derives it from either word.^[1][4] cul is from Latin cūlus (“backside”).^[5]

The slang senses have other sources.^[2][6] The sense of drunkenness probably comes from the verb se culotter (“to get drunk”), properly to become coloured like the bottom of a pipe, and so depends on the word for that bottom.^[2][6] The sense of a heavy loss at gaming is probably linked to the same noun in the sense of the lowest part of something, with the idea of inferiority, as in a Swiss French billiards phrase for being behind one's opponent.^[2][6] The TLFi treats this last sense as a separate headword.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1515 in the Chronique bordelaise, which says that hose à la culote came into fashion that year;^[5][2] une paire de culottes de velours is recorded in 1593.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Culotte first named an outer garment for men, like the older chausses and braies.^[6] In the 18th century the culotte, tight under the knee, was contrasted with the pantalon; the contrast faded in the 19th century and was gone in the 20th.^[6] The name sans-culotte (1790) recalls it: the men of the people wore trousers, while the tight culotte was worn by the nobility.^[6] In set phrases the word stands for the man as opposed to the skirt: porter la culotte, said of a wife who rules the household, is recorded by the Académie in 1798.^[2][6] Culotte now dominates in the Gallo-Romance dialects, both for breeches and for trousers.^[5]

In European French it now names boys' short trousers, a woman's undergarment (1903), and children's underwear.^[6] In Quebec une paire de culottes is a pair of trousers, and culotte or petite culotte a woman's or child's undergarment.^[6] By analogy it became a butchers' term for part of the animal's rump (1708).^[2][6] In slang, se donner une culotte “to get drunk” is recorded in 1821,^[2] and culotte “a run of losses at gaming” in 1838.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1515 – The Chronique bordelaise records hose à la culote.^[2][5]
• 1593 – Une paire de culottes de velours is recorded.^[2]
• 1708 – Furetière records the butchers' sense.^[2][7]
• 1739 – The verb se déculotter is recorded.^[6][5]
• 1790 – The name sans-culotte appears.^[6]
• 1798 – The Académie records porter la culotte.^[2]
• 1821 – Desgranges records se donner une culotte “to get drunk”.^[2]
• 1838 – It is used for a run of losses at gaming.^[2]
• 1903 – It names a woman's undergarment.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) Breeches, a man's outer garment covering the body from the waist to the knees.^[8][9]
2. Short trousers worn by boys or sportsmen: culotte courte, also culotte de cheval, riding breeches.^[8][9]
3. (Quebec) Trousers: une paire de culottes.^[6]
4. A woman's undergarment, knickers, also petite culotte, and a child's underwear.^[10][6][1]
5. Porter la culotte: to rule the household (said of a wife).^[8][2]
6. (butchery) A cut from the rump of beef or veal.^[10][2]
7. (slang) A heavy loss at gaming or in business: prendre une culotte au poker.^[10][2]

Word family

• culotter
• sans-culotte
• déculotter

Related words

• pantalon
• cul
• culot
• Latin cūlus

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 n o p q r s t 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)