enrouer

Forms

enrouer^[1] Old French enroer (12th century), later enrouer (13th century); also enrouir.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Old French en- + ro (“hoarse”) in Old French; the adjective (first half of the 12th century) is from Latin raucus (“hoarse”).^[4][5][1] The adjective also had the forms roi (late 11th century, in Rashi's glosses) and, in the feminine, roue.^[2][3][6] The same Latin adjective was later borrowed as rauque.^[5][1]

Compare Old Provençal enraucar.^[5][3] Littré cites dialect forms of Berry, among them enroui, and of Geneva.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in the Lapidaire of Marbode (before 1150), is intransitive: “to become hoarse”.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th-century life of Thomas Becket quoted by Littré, the shouting of the crowd made the pope enroïr, and the poet himself was tuz enroez from the cries.^[7] The transitive use, “to make (the voice) hoarse”, is recorded from the mid-13th century.^[2][5] The pronominal s'enrouer “to become hoarse” (1538, or 1549 in Robert Estienne by the GLLF's dating) became the usual construction, together with the past participle enroué, used as an adjective (une voix enrouée).^[5][2][8]

Timeline

• before 1150 – The verb appears in the Lapidaire of Marbode, meaning “to become hoarse”.^[4]
• mid-13th century – It is used transitively.^[2]
• 15th century – The derivative enrouement is recorded.^[5][3]
• 1538 – The pronominal s'enrouer is recorded.^[5]
• 1580 – désenrouer appears.^[5][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To make (the voice) hoarse: Le froid lui a enroué la voix.^[8][4]
2. (pronominal) S'enrouer: to become hoarse, especially from shouting or talking.^[8][7]
3. Être enroué: to be hoarse, to have a hoarse throat;^[8] une voix enrouée.^[8]

Word family

• enrouement
• désenrouer

Related words

• rauque
• Latin raucus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert