fibreux

Forms

fibreux (feminine fibreuse, masculine plural fibreux, feminine plural fibreuses)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French fibre + -eux.^[2][3][1] The noun fibre is from Latin fibra (“fibre, filament”), recorded in French from 1372.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the phrase racine fibreuse “fibrous root”, dated 1545 by Bloch and Wartburg and the Robert dictionaries^[4][3][5] and 1549 (Jean Meignan) by the TLFi and the GLLF.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It then came to describe whatever is of the nature of fibre or made of fibres, in physiology, in cooking and elsewhere.^[5] Ambroise Paré describes the womb as tied to nearby parts by small appendices fibreuses.^[7] The histological sense, tissu fibreux “fibrous tissue”, is dated to Littré (1865).^[6] Littré also records botanical and mineralogical uses: fibrous roots, and a fibrous texture or fracture in minerals.^[7]

Timeline

• 1545 – Racine fibreuse is recorded.^[4][5]
• 1549 – Jean Meignan uses racine fibreuse, the TLFi's first record.^[2][6]
• 1865 – Littré records the anatomical sense tissu fibreux.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Made of or containing fibres, fibrous: tissu fibreux, tumeur fibreuse.^[8][2][9]
2. (botany) Of plants grown for their fibres, used for textiles or paper.^[8]
3. With visible or noticeable fibres, stringy, as of tough meat or certain fruit.^[8]

Related words

• fibre
• fibrille
• fibrine
• fibrome
• Latin fibra

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)