délayer

Forms

délayer^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][3] It is perhaps inherited from Vulgar Latin *dēlicō (“to make liquid”), a popular form in Gaul of Latin dēliquō (“to clarify, decant”), formed from dē- and liquō (“to liquefy, filter”).^[3][4][2][5] Bloch and Wartburg and Rey take it to be the same word as Italian dileguare and Old Occitan deslegar, and assume the popular form in order to explain the forms of both languages;^[4][2] Rey adds that it may have been influenced by Latin dēlicātus, the source of délicat.^[4][2]

The expected outcome would have been ⟨deleyer⟩ or ⟨deloyer⟩; the irregular ⟨delayer⟩ may have arisen to keep the verb apart from desleier and desloier, old forms of délier, and it then brought it close to Old French delaier “to delay”, the verb behind délai.^[4][2][3] The FEW files it under Latin laxō (“to loosen”),^[6] while Littré derived it from dīlātō (“to extend”), the source of the old verb meaning “to delay”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 13th century in the Lapidaire de Modène, in the sense “to mix with a liquid”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Littré notes that the usual old word for this sense was allaier, and quotes the 14th-century Ménagier: Alaier d'eaue chaude “to thin with hot water”.^[7] The figurative sense, to express a thought at too great length, is recorded from 1766 in Voltaire; it is pejorative, as is the participle délayé “long-winded”.^[8][2] The noun délayement is found in Estienne's dictionary of 1549, and délayage in 1836.^[3][4]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – First record, in the Lapidaire de Modène.^[3]
• 14th century – The Ménagier uses the older verb alaier in the same sense.^[7]
• 1549 – Delayement appears in Estienne's dictionary.^[3][4]
• 1766 – Voltaire uses it figuratively.^[8][2]
• 1836 – The noun délayage is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To dilute or mix (a solid or a powder) in a liquid: délayer de la fécule dans un peu d'eau froide.^[9][3]
2. (pronominal) Se délayer: to dissolve or mix into a liquid.^[3]
3. (figurative) To spin out or pad out (an idea, a speech) in too many words: un exposé délayé.^[9][1]

Word family

• délayage
• délayement

Related words

• liqueur
• Latin dēliquō

Usage notes

Littré and the GLLF list a second, older verb délayer “to put off, delay”, Old French delaier, deslaier (about 1175), still used in the classical period; the GLLF derives it from dé- and the old verb laier “to leave”, Littré from the Latin source of délai.^[8][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 225b
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert