Etymologically
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esquisse

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛs.kis/[1]

Forms

esquisse f (plural esquisses)[1] Esquiche (1567), esquisse (1611, Cotgrave; 1642, Oudin).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian schizzo (“rough sketch”) (early 16th century), Frenchified, earlier “splash made by a spurting liquid” (14th century, Boccaccio), the noun of schizzare (“to spurt, squirt”).[5][2][3][4][1] The “provisional drawing” sense is credited to the painter Vasari.[3][4] The origin of “schizzare” is obscure:[2] the TLFi and the FEW think it onomatopoeic,[5][6] while the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and Littré derive it from Late Latin schedium (“improvised poem”), from Ancient Greek σχέδιος (skhédios, “offhand, done in haste”), which Rey also mentions.[7][8][9][2] A Gothic “*slîtjan” “to split” does not fit the sounds.[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Esquiche is recorded in 1567, as an architectural sketch;[2][4] Oudin (1642) has esquisse for a drawing.[5][4]

Semantic evolution

An esquisse is the first form of a drawing or painting, and by analogy of a statue or a building, setting out its main lines[2][4][8]; Diderot found that les esquisses ont communément un feu que le tableau n'a pas.[2][4][8] From 1752 it is also the outline plan of a literary work, then a general survey of a subject (Condorcet), and figuratively the beginning of a gesture, l'esquisse d'un sourire.[2][4][10]

The verb esquisser (1651, earlier esquicher 1567) followed the same path.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 14th century – Italian schizzo “splash”.[5][2]
  • early 16th century – Italian schizzo “sketch”.[5]
  • 1567 – Esquiche, esquicher.[2][3]
  • 1642 – Esquisse (Oudin).[5][7]
  • 1651 – Esquisser.[2]
  • 1752 – The outline of a literary work.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sketch, a first rough drawing or model of a work of art: esquisse au crayon.[8][10]
  2. An outline, a general survey: une esquisse de ses projets.[10][4]
  3. (figurative) The beginning of something: l'esquisse d'un sourire.[10][2]

Word family

  • esquisser

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  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 e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 6b
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)