cygne

Forms

cygne m (plural cygnes)^[1] Old French cisne and cine, then cigne (mid-13th century) and cygne (1546).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French cisne, inherited from Late Latin cicinus,^[2][3][4] a Late Latin form recorded by Oribasius and in the Salic Law,^[2][3][5] from Latin cycnus (“swan”), also written cygnus and cignus, which is from Ancient Greek κύκνος (kúknos).^[2][3][1] The spelling with ⟨y⟩ and ⟨g⟩ is a remaking after the Classical Latin form: cigne appears about 1250 and the present spelling in 1546.^[3][6][1] The modern pronunciation /siɲ/ is a spelling pronunciation based on that spelling.^[1] The form cine was still in use in the 16th century.^[5]

In Latin the word was learned and poetic, and it replaced the ordinary Latin name of the bird, olor.^[3] Rey compares the Greek word with Sanskrit words meaning “to shine” and “bright, white”, so that it would mean “the white one”.^[3]

Cognate with Italian cigno, Old Italian cecino and cecero, and Old Occitan cinhe;^[5][7] Bloch and Wartburg take Spanish cisne from French.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as cisne about 1170 in the Lais of Marie de France, naming the swan.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the bird, the word took figurative uses from the qualities ascribed to it, such as purity and grace.^[3] The belief that the swan sings a wonderfully sweet song just before it dies gave le chant du cygne (1546, in Rabelais) and, figuratively, chanter le chant du cygne (1640, Oudin).^[2][3] The same tradition lies behind the poetic sense “poet” (1630, Malherbe), as in le cygne de Mantoue for Virgil.^[2][3][8]

By extension the word also names swan's down used as a trimming, recorded in 1831 in Balzac.^[2][9]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Cisne appears in the Lais of Marie de France.^[2]
• c. 1250 – The remade spelling cigne appears.^[3][6]
• 1546 – Chant du cycne is used by Rabelais; the spelling cygne dates from this year.^[2][3]
• 1630 – Malherbe uses the word for a poet.^[2][3]
• 1640 – Oudin records chanter le chant du cigne.^[2]
• 1831 – Balzac uses it for swan's down.^[2][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A swan, a large water bird with a long, flexible neck and usually white plumage.^[8][2]
2. Cygne noir: the black swan of Australia.^[8]
3. Une blancheur de cygne: a dazzling whiteness, also cou de cygne, a long, graceful neck.^[8]
4. Le chant du cygne: the last masterpiece of an artist before death.^[8]
5. (literary) A poet, as in le cygne de Mantoue (Virgil) or le cygne de Cambrai (Fénelon).^[8][3]
6. Swan's down used as a trimming.^[8][2]

Related words

• Latin cycnus
• Ancient Greek κύκνος (kúknos)

Usage notes

With a capital, le Cygne is the constellation Cygnus.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1605a
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF