fente

Forms

fente f (plural fentes)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *findita, a noun made from the feminine of *finditus, a popular past participle of Latin findō (“to split”) that replaced the classical fissus.^[2][3][4][5] The FEW, followed by the TLFi, rather sees a French formation on fendre, on the model of rente beside rendre.^[6][7] Bloch and Wartburg note that the participle *finditus must have disappeared very early.^[2] Wiktionary describes the word, either way, as equivalent to the verb with the ending -te.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1332, in a Norman deed of the Chambre des Comptes, for a split or crack.^[6][5] Nicole Oresme, in the 14th century, wrote of a hand caught in a cleft that closed again (en la fente qui se reclost).^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word has always named a narrow, long opening in a solid body: in wood, rock, walls, and later in the body itself.^[6][9] In anatomy it names a narrow gap between two structures, and surgeons used it for a slight fracture of the skull.^[8][9] From the action of splitting came bois de fente, wood split lengthwise into stakes and laths, recorded by Olivier de Serres in 1600.^[5][8] The sense “action of splitting” itself is dated by the GLLF to Trévoux's dictionary in 1771.^[5]

Like other words for an opening, it took the slang sense “vulva” (1618, in a satirical poem), and se boucher la fente meant “to eat and drink” (1894); the suffixed fendasse (1863) is a coarser word for the vulva and, by extension, a woman.^[3] It is also a term of fencing, a lunge,^[1] and in skiing it is recorded from 1969.^[10]

Timeline

• 1332 – First record, in a Norman deed of the Chambre des Comptes.^[6]
• 14th century – Nicole Oresme uses it in his translation of Aristotle's Ethics.^[8]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres writes of bois de fente, wood split lengthwise.^[5][8]
• 1618 – A satirical poem uses it for the vulva.^[3]
• 1694 – The Académie records the word in its first edition.^[6]
• 1771 – Trévoux records the sense “action of splitting”.^[5]
• 1863 – The slang derivative fendasse appears.^[3]
• 1969 – First record as a skiing term.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A narrow, long crack or fissure in the surface of a solid material, as in rock or bark.^[9][1]
2. (anatomy) A narrow, elongated gap between two parts of the body: la fente palpébrale.^[9][1]
3. A very narrow gap or chink between two things: regarder par les fentes d'un volet.^[9][5]
4. A narrow opening made right through a material, a slit or slot, as in a door, a skirt or a jacket.^[9][1]
5. The action of splitting, as of slate or wood: bois de fente, wood split lengthwise.^[6][5]
6. (fencing) A lunge.^[1]
7. (vulgar, slang) The vulva.^[1][3]

Related words

• fendre
• fesse
• fissure
• Latin findō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 552a
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF