escroc

Forms

escroc m (plural escrocs)^[1] First spelled escroq (1634); escroc from 1640.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian scrocco (“sponger, freeloader”).^[2][3][4] The Italian noun, recorded from the 16th century, is a deverbal noun from Italian scroccare (“to live at others' expense”), which is also the source of escroquer.^[2][3] The origin of the Italian verb is disputed: the TLFi prefers a link with crocco (“hook”), literally “to unhook”, while Wartburg traced it to the imitative root that also gave croquer.^[2][3][5][6] Littré reports Diez's derivation of the Italian noun from Old High German scurgo (“rogue”), the ancestor of German Schurke, which Wiktionary also gives.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1634, in the Testament du Gros Guillaume, perhaps meaning “evildoer”: une grande troupe d'escroqs qui s'estoient tous tués en duel “a great band of escrocs who had all killed one another in duels”.^[2][3] In 1640 Oudin records it as “sponger”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

As with the verb, the word first had the Italian sense of a sponger, and the modern sense of a swindler developed quickly in French, by the middle of the 17th century.^[5][8] It replaced the older escroqueur, now dated.^[3] Feminine forms were tried, une escroque in Tallemant des Réaux (1657) and une escroc in Madame de Sévigné, but they are archaic; today the masculine is used of a woman too, or escroc in apposition, une femme escroc.^[3][4] It is also used figuratively, as in escroc politique.^[2]

Timeline

• 1634 – Escroq appears in the Testament du Gros Guillaume.^[2][3]
• 1640 – Oudin records escroc “sponger”.^[2][8]
• 1657 – Tallemant des Réaux uses the feminine une escroque.^[3]
• Mid-17th century – The modern sense “swindler” appears.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A swindler, someone who gets hold of other people's property by abusing their trust: Ce faux banquier était un escroc.^[9][4][2][1]
2. More broadly, a person dishonest in business, a crook.^[9][10]

Related words

• escroquer
• escroquerie
• croc
• Italian scrocco

Usage notes

The final ⟨c⟩ is never pronounced, and in the plural the ⟨s⟩ is sounded in liaison.^[7] The word is masculine even of a woman: cette femme est un escroc.^[4][9]

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 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b 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. 2, 1361a
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)