envelopper

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɑ̃.vlɔ.pe/^[1]

Forms

envelopper^[1] Envolopet (3rd person past, late 10th century), envolupé (Roland), anveloper (about 1175); the forms in envol- are limited to Old and Middle French.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed with the prefix en- from Old French voloper (“to wrap, wrap round”) (12th–14th centuries),^[2][3][5][6] which corresponds to Old Occitan volopar and Italian “viluppo” “tangle, bundle”.^[3][5] “Voloper” is of obscure origin, perhaps from Medieval Latin faluppa (“chaff, wisp of straw”) (10th century), with the initial “vo-” due to Latin volvō (“to roll”).^[2][3][5][7] Wiktionary instead derives it from a Germanic word for “to wrap”, akin to English wrap.^[1]

développer is its opposite, and fripe and flapi may belong to the same family.^[5][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has l'envolopet, of Joseph wrapping the body of Jesus;^[2][3] the Chanson de Roland has envolupé d'un paile Alexandrin, wrapped in a silk of Alexandria.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the start it meant to cover something on all sides.^[3] About 1235 Gautier de Coinci used it for “to ensnare, get round” someone, and, from 1680 one enveloppe a thing in mystery, to conceal it.^[2][3] Marguerite de Navarre (before 1549) has it for including someone with others (enveloppé dans une accusation, Furetière).^[2][9]

In the 17th century it became a military term, “to surround (the enemy)” (1636, Amyot already has envelopper par derriere), and was used of whatever seems to cover a thing completely (la nuit enveloppe la ville).^[3][4] The commercial je vous l'enveloppe ? asks whether the sale is agreed.^[3][8] The noun enveloppe (1292) has meant a letter's cover since 1632.^[3]

Timeline

• Late 10th century – Envolopet in the Clermont Passion.^[2]
• c. 1175 – Anveloper in Chrétien de Troyes.^[2]
• c. 1214 – Envolopement.^[3]
• c. 1235 – “To ensnare”, in Gautier de Coinci.^[2]
• 1292 – Enveloppe.^[5]
• 1636 – “To surround (the enemy)”.^[3]
• 1680 – “To veil (in mystery)”.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To wrap, wrap up: envelopper un cadeau, envelopper un enfant dans une couverture.^[8][1]
2. To envelop, cover entirely: la brume enveloppait la ville.^[10][1]
3. To veil, shroud: une affaire enveloppée de mystère.^[10][3]
4. (military) To surround, encircle.^[10][4]
5. To include, implicate: envelopper qqn dans une accusation.^[4][9]
6. Je vous l'enveloppe ?: shall I wrap it for you? (is it a deal?).^[8][3]

Word family

• enveloppe
• enveloppement
• enveloppe
• enveloppement
• enveloppant

Related words

• développer

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 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 398b
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
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 Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse