faisan

Forms

faisan m (plural faisans, feminine faisane or faisande)^[1] Old French faisant, plural feisanz; the modern spelling dates from 1552.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman fesaunt, feisaun and fesan.^[5] The female is faisane (1552 faisanne, 1732), which replaced faisande (1493).^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French faisant, probably borrowed from Old Occitan faisan, from Latin phāsiānus (“pheasant”), which is from Ancient Greek φασιανός (phasianós), properly “the bird of the Phasis”, a river of Colchis.^[2][6][1] The Trésor derives it from the Latin word but explains its ending by the Old Occitan form, recorded only about 1268–1271,^[2] while Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the Grand Larousse take the French word from Old Occitan.^[6][7][4] Legend says that the Argonauts found the bird by the Phasis.^[3][7]

Cognate with Italian fagiano, Catalan faisà, Spanish faisán and Portuguese faisão.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural feisanz “pheasants” appears in Chrétien de Troyes' Chevalier de la Charrette (1172–1175).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the sense of its etymon, the pheasant, and took its modern spelling in 1552.^[3] Poule faisande, the hen pheasant, is recorded by the Académie in 1694.^[2][4] Littré gives faisan d'eau as a name of the turbot, for its fine flesh.^[9]

In 19th-century slang the word was used of a swindler or cheat, and of a man running rigged games, from about 1850 to 1930;^[3] Rey explains it by a play on faisant “doing” in its slang uses, as with faiseur.^[3] The derived verb faisander (1393) gave the adjective faisandé, “gamy”, then figuratively “corrupt” in the 19th century.^[3] The English word pheasant goes back to the Anglo-Norman forms.^[5]

Timeline

• 1172–1175 – Feisanz appears in Chrétien de Troyes.^[2]
• 1373 – The diminutive faisanteau (later faisandeau) is recorded.^[3]
• 1393 – The verb faisander is first recorded.^[3][6]
• 1552 – The spelling faisan appears.^[3][4]
• 1669 – Fézanderie, later faisanderie, is recorded.^[3][6]
• 1694 – The Académie records poule faisande.^[2]
• 1866 – The slang sense “swindler” is recorded.^[7][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pheasant, a game bird with brightly coloured plumage and, in the male, a long tail.^[2][10]
2. The cock pheasant, as opposed to the hen, faisane or poule faisane.^[1][10]
3. (slang, dated) A swindler, a man living on shady dealings.^[10][3]

Adjective

1. Poule faisane: the hen pheasant.^[10][4]

Word family

• faisandeau
• faisander
• faisanderie

Usage notes

The Grand Robert treats the slang faisan “swindler” (1866) as a separate word, an alteration of faiseur influenced by faisander,^[7] while Rey sees in it a play on faisant.^[3] Littré criticised the pronunciation with /ə/, which likens the word to the participle faisant;^[9] it is the usual one today.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert