escalin

Forms

escalin m^[1][2] 13th-century eskallin.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Middle Dutch schellinc (“a silver coin”).^[1][2][5] The ⟨a⟩ of the French form is a difficulty; the TLFi cites the proposal that the coin name Carolus influenced it, as in carlin.^[1] The Grand Robert gives the source as Dutch schelling.^[3]

Littré compares the Dutch word with German Schilling and English shilling.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chronique de Reims (13th century) has eskallins given by King Richard to the counts of Flanders and Champagne.^[4][2][3] The TLFi's first record, in 1619 in the custom of Bruges, has the sense “silver coin”.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The word named a silver coin of the Low Countries and of other states of northern Europe, whose value varied by place and period.^[2][1] The Académie recorded it in 1694 as a small coin current in the Netherlands, with the ⟨s⟩ pronounced.^[6] By metonymy, in the early 19th century it was also a horse hired for an escalin, at the spa of Spa.^[1] In Louisiana French it was an old coin worth twelve and a half cents.^[7]

Timeline

• 13th century – Eskallin in the Chronique de Reims.^[2][4]
• 1619 – Escalin “silver coin” in the custom of Bruges.^[1]
• 1694 – The Académie records it.^[6]
• 1813 – Jouy uses it of a hired horse.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) An old silver coin of the Low Countries and other northern European states.^[1][2][4]
2. (dated, familiar) A horse hired for the price of an escalin.^[1]
3. (Louisiana, historical) A coin worth twelve and a half cents, a bit.^[7]

Related words

• schilling
• Middle Dutch schellinc
• English shilling

References

1. ^ 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
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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 32a
6. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
7. ^ a b Base de données lexicographiques panfrancophone (BDLP), Trésor de la langue française au Québec / Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, bdlp.org