enfouir

Forms

enfouir^[1] Old French enfodir (about 1050), then enfoïr (12th century) and enfouir (13th century).^[2][3] Anglo-Norman had enfoir, enfouer and enfower, among other spellings.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French enfodir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *infodiō, an altered form of Latin infodiō (“to dig in, bury”).^[3][5][6][1] The Latin verb is formed from in- and fodiō (“to dig”),^[2][7] the verb that gave fouir.^[5][8] Bloch and Wartburg note that the word survives only in French.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, meaning “to put (someone) in the ground, bury”: Voilent o non, sil laissent enfodir “willing or not, they let him be buried”.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

Like enterrer, the verb first meant to put in the ground.^[3] In 1614 it was used figuratively for leaving a talent unused, and in 1636 for putting something in a covered, hidden place.^[3][8][2] In the 19th century it came to mean hiding one's thoughts (1829), and s'enfouir “to hide, to huddle” (1835), a sense now gone according to Rey.^[3]

Old French had the noun enfoueur “gravedigger” (early 12th century).^[3] The old verbal noun enfeu (1482) survives as a term of archaeology for a burial niche in a church wall.^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Enfodir appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[8][2]
• 13th century – The form enfouir is established.^[2][6]
• 1482 – The noun enfeu is recorded.^[5][3]
• 1539 – The noun enfouissement is recorded.^[5][3]
• 1614 – Hulsius records the figurative sense “to leave unused”.^[8]
• 1627 – The noun enfouisseur is recorded.^[5][3]
• 1636 – Monet records the sense “to put in a hidden place”.^[2][3]
• 1829 – Boiste records the sense “to hide (one's thoughts)”.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bury, to put in a hole dug in the ground and cover with earth: enfouir des bulbes de tulipe, un coffre enfoui.^[9][8]
2. To push into or hide in a covered place: Il enfouit la lettre au fond d'un tiroir.^[9][8]
3. (reflexive) s'enfouir: to burrow, to bury oneself: s'enfouir sous sa couette.^[9][7]
4. (figurative) enfoui dans: withdrawn into a place or an occupation.^[9][7]

Word family

• enfouissement
• enfeu
• enfouisseur

Related words

• fouir
• fosse
• fossé

References

1. ^ a b c 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 d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
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 e f g 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
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert