donjon

Forms

donjon m (plural donjons)^[1] Old French donjon, also dangon, danjon and doignon.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *dominiō (“main tower”), accusative *dominiōnem,^[3][4][5][6] found from the 11th century in the sense “main tower” in texts as Medieval Latin domnionus, donjo and dangio.^[3][7] It is probably derived from Latin dominus (“lord, master”),^[3][7][4] so properly “main tower of the castle” or “the lord's tower”, and not “the lord's dwelling”.^[4][7] The word is only Gallo-Romance.^[4]

The TLFi and Rey prefer this to an older derivation from Frankish *dungjo (“place where women work”), which hardly fits the sense.^[3][7] Littré also rejected the Irish words for a fortified place proposed in his time, since the oldest form has /o/ and some forms keep the /m/ of the Latin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1160, in the Roman d'Eneas, meaning the main tower of a fortified castle.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

The main tower of a castle was also its prison, and the word took on that use, with a figurative sense “protected place of voluntary retreat”.^[7] By analogy it named a small belvedere on the roof of a house (Félibien, 1676),^[3][7] and technically the main chamber of a burrow.^[7] In the 20th century it was used in the navy for the metal tower of a battleship.^[8][9]

English dungeon, from Old French donjon about 1300, first meant the great tower of a castle; it moved to “strong underground cell” in the early 14th century, while the original sense went with the variant spelling donjon.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – First record, in the Roman d'Eneas.^[3]
• c. 1300 – English borrows the word as dungeon.^[10]
• 1540–1550 – Donjon in the royal building accounts.^[3]
• Early 17th century – The heraldic adjective donjonné appears.^[7]
• 1676 – Félibien uses it for a small room on top of a house.^[3]
• 1823 – Las Cases uses donjonnier “keeper of the keep”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The keep, the main tower of a medieval castle and the garrison's last stronghold.^[11][9]
2. (dated) A small belvedere built on the roof of a house.^[8][3]
3. (navy) The armoured tower of a battleship, with its bridges and fire-control posts.^[9][8]

Word family

• donjonné

Related words

• dom
• dame
• Latin dominus
• English dungeon

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 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. 3, 130a
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert