Etymologically
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débris

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /de.bʁi/[1]

Forms

débris m (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It is the noun of an old verb debrisier (“to break to pieces”), “débriser” (from the “Cambridge Psalter”; still in use in the 17th century),[2][3][4][5] an intensive of briser with “dé-”.[3][6] “Briser” is Late Latin brisāre (about 700), of Gaulish origin (compare Old Irish “brissim” “I break”).[4][7] Littré analysed it as “dé-” + bris.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Robert Estienne (1549) has it for the act of breaking, in competition with bris, brisement and brisure.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Figuratively it meant destruction, ruin (d'Aubigné, 1616–1620, Racine's Seul reste du débris d'une illustre famille), a sense still used as an archaism by Chateaubriand.[2][3][6] It gave way to the concrete sense, a heap of broken things (Boileau, 1666: un long débris de bouteilles cassées), then what remains of a thing destroyed (Fléchier, 1671), of a ship (1690), of animals (1794) and of human beings (1796).[2][3] Delille used vieux débris without contempt for old people, witnesses of the past; it is now a popular insult for a decrepit old man.[3][9] English debris was borrowed in 1708.[7]

Timeline

  • 1549 – “Breaking”, in Robert Estienne.[2]
  • 1616–1620 – “Ruin”, in d'Aubigné.[2]
  • 1666 – A heap of broken things, in Boileau.[2]
  • 1671 – Remains, in Fléchier.[2]
  • 1708 – English debris.[7]
  • 1794 – Remains of animals, in Condorcet.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Fragments, debris (usually plural): des débris de verre.[10][9]
  2. Remains: les débris d'un repas, d'une fortune.[10][9]
  3. (literary) Mortal remains; ruins (of a building).[10][9]
  4. (popular) Vieux débris: old wreck (of a person).[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert