denier

Forms

denier m (plural deniers)^[1] Old French dener, then denier from about 1175.^[2][3] The Anglo-Norman forms include dener, denere and diner.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French dener, inherited from Latin dēnārius (“a silver coin worth ten asses”).^[5][2][6][7] The Latin noun is an adjective meaning containing ten, used as a noun, from dēnī (“ten each”), the distributive of decem (“ten”).^[2][8][9] In the Late Empire it was a small copper coin.^[2][6] The old form gave the derivative denrée, and dénaire is a learned borrowing of the same Latin word.^[2][1]

Cognate with Italian denaro, Old Occitan denier, Catalan diner, Spanish dinero and Portuguese dinheiro.^[10][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

As dener it is found at the end of the 10th century in the Passion du Christ, meaning a Roman coin.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) the word also named a French coin, and until the 19th century coins of many values, even of silver and gold.^[5][2][6] Hence the plural deniers for an unspecified sum of money (c. 1168, Chrétien de Troyes's Erec).^[5][2] In li deniers saint Piere (c. 1175) and le denier Dieu (c. 1283) it named a payment made as an offering or contribution;^[5][2][6] le denier Dieu was a levy on all bargains, used for pious works, and le denier à Dieu (1648) the earnest money paid when a bargain or a lease was made.^[5][2][6] Le denier de la veuve, after the Gospel of Luke, is recorded in 1689 (Madame de Sévigné), and le denier du culte in 1906; only the last is still in use.^[5][2]

Already in Old French the word was also a unit of weight (1256), and much later the measure of the weight of silk thread (1870).^[5][2] In finance it named the rate of interest of a sum (1349, Machaut).^[5][2] The English denier, for the French coin, dates from the early 15th century.^[11]

Timeline

• late 10th century – Dener “Roman coin” in the Passion du Christ.^[5]
• c. 1100 – In the Chanson de Roland it names a French coin.^[5][12]
• c. 1168 – The plural deniers means “money” in Chrétien de Troyes's Erec.^[5][2]
• c. 1175 – Li deniers saint Piere in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[5]
• c. 1180 – N'avoir pas un denier “to be penniless” in Raoul de Cambrai.^[12]
• 1256 – Used as a unit of weight.^[5]
• c. 1283 – Denier Dieu, a levy on bargains, in Beaumanoir.^[5]
• 1349 – Machaut uses it for the rate of interest.^[5]
• early 15th century – English borrows denier for the French coin.^[11]
• 1648 – Denier à Dieu “earnest money” in Scarron.^[5]
• 1689 – Denier de la veuve in Madame de Sévigné.^[5]
• 1870 – Used for the weight of silk thread.^[5]
• 1906 – Denier du culte in the Larousse.^[5][12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) The Roman silver denarius, first worth ten and later sixteen asses: les trente deniers de Judas.^[8][5][9]
2. (history) An old French coin, worth a twelfth of a sou and a 240th of a livre.^[8][5]
3. (dated) A sum of money; in the plural, money belonging to someone: de ses propres deniers “out of one's own pocket”, les deniers publics “public funds”.^[5][1]
4. A voluntary contribution: le denier du culte, paid to the local clergy, le denier de Saint-Pierre, for the Pope;^[5] (dated) le denier à Dieu, earnest money.^[5]
5. (formerly) The rate of interest on a sum: prêter au denier vingt.^[8][5]
6. (textiles) A unit of the weight of yarn, used for silk and synthetic fibres.^[2][1]

Word family

• denrée

Related words

• dénaire
• dix
• Latin dēnārius
• English denier

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final ⟨r⟩ is never pronounced in liaison, while the plural ⟨s⟩ is: des deniers argentés.^[9]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 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. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 39b
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse