flambe

Forms

flambe f (plural flambes)^[1] Old French flamble, recorded from the 12th to the 15th century.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman spellings include flaumbe and flambre.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French flamble (“flame”), inherited from Latin flammula (“little flame”), the diminutive of flamma (“flame”).^{[3][5][2][6][7]} The modern form arose by dissimilation.^[3][2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses it for a flame, and also in orie flambe, the golden banner that became the oriflamme.^[3]

Semantic evolution

As a plain word for “flame” it lasted until the 17th century, giving the verb flamber about 1165;^[8] Furetière already called it an old word in 1690.^[3] It lives on in regional speech for a tall, bright flame.^[3][9]

From the likeness of a flame it named an iris, in Henri de Mondeville's surgery (1314: Yreos est flambe qui a la fleur blanche, “yreos is the flambe with the white flower”),^[3][6] a long narrow banner (1504) and a sword with a wavy blade (1566), such as painters put in the hand of the archangel Michael.^[3][2][6]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – “Flame” and orie flambe in the Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• c. 1165 – The derived verb flamber.^[8]
• 1314 – Henri de Mondeville uses it for the iris.^[3][6]
• 1504 – “Banner”.^[3]
• 1566 – “Sword with a wavy blade”.^[3][2]
• 1690 – Furetière calls it an old word.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, dated) A tall, bright flame, a blaze.^[3][9]
2. An iris, especially the yellow flag Iris pseudacorus and Iris germanica.^[9][3][6]
3. (technical) A sword with a wavy blade, also called a flambard.^[9][2]
4. (historical) A long, narrow banner.^[2][3]

Word family

• flamber

Related words

• flamme
• flambeau
• oriflamme
• Latin flammula

Usage notes

A separate slang word flambe, “gambling game”, recorded by Esnault in 1886, is a back-formation from flambeau “game” (1845), from the phrase mettre au flambeau, to leave money by the candlestick to pay for the cards (1829).^[3][5][2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 602a
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert