damoiseau

Forms

damoiseau m (plural damoiseaux)^[1] Old French dameisel, damoisel (13th century), nominative singular damoisaus;^[2][3][4] damoiseau from the 16th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French damoisel, inherited from Vulgar Latin *domnicellus, a diminutive of Latin dominus (“master of the house, lord”).^[5][4][1][6]

Cognate with Old Occitan donzel, Catalan donzell, Spanish doncel and Italian donzello.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Couronnement de Louis (about 1135) dameisel is a young nobleman not yet dubbed a knight.^[5][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The diminutive took its sense in the feudal age.^[4] In Middle French (14th–15th centuries) it named especially the young noble who went with the lord or lady to the hunt or on outings and served as messenger.^[4] Ironically, Ronsard (1563–1564) applied it to a young man who is eager and gallant with women, and it came to suggest a young man fussy about his dress, of somewhat effeminate gallantry;^[5][4][2] Molière used it in this sense.^[5][4][2] The feminine damoiselle, the old form of demoiselle, did not take on the same pejorative shade.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – Dameisel in the Couronnement de Louis.^[5][7]
• 13th century – The form damoisel.^[2]
• 14th–15th centuries – Used of a young noble attending a lord or lady.^[4]
• 1563–1564 – Ronsard uses it of a young ladies' man.^[5][4]
• 16th century – The form damoiseau.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) In the Middle Ages, a young nobleman who was not yet a knight.^[5][8][1]
2. (humorous, dated) A young man who preens himself and is attentive to women, a dandy or ladies' man.^[8][5][1]

Related words

• damoiselle
• demoiselle
• dame
• dom
• Latin dominus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 135a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert