fourbe

Forms

fourbe (plural fourbes)^[1]

Etymology

It is from French fourbir (“to polish, clean, (slang) to rob”), from the slang sense “to rob”, much as polir gave polisson and nettoyer means “to rob” in popular speech.^[2][3][4][5] The TLFi derives the noun for the person from the feminine noun of the same spelling meaning “deceit”, itself a deverbal noun of the verb.^[6] An Old French forbeter (“to deceive”) (13th century) supports this explanation.^[6][2] The verb comes from Proto-West Germanic *furbjan.^[4][7] Bloch and Wartburg think that Italian furbo probably comes from the French word, while Littré took the French word from the Italian.^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1455 in the slang of the Coquillards, recorded at their trial in Dijon, as a masculine noun for a thief who assists the swindler.^[6][2][9]

Semantic evolution

From “thief” it came to mean a person who uses odious tricks to deceive, recorded in Corneille's Le Menteur (1643).^[6][5] The adjective is recorded in 1638 in a letter of Descartes, and in 1642 in Corneille.^[6][9][10] The noun has aged, and the word survives in modern French mainly as an adjective.^[5][3] Its derivative fourberie (1640) replaced both fourbe nouns.^[5][4]

Timeline

• 1455 – In Coquillard slang, a thief who assists the swindler.^[6][9]
• 1638 – As an adjective, in Descartes.^[6]
• 1640 – The derivative fourberie appears.^[5][4]
• 1642 – The adjective in Corneille.^[9][10]
• 1643 – The noun “deceiver”, in Corneille's Le Menteur.^[6][9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) deceitful, treacherous: deceiving others by hidden, odious tricks while pretending to be honest.^[3][6][8]
2. Showing cunning or perfidy: Elle avait un sourire fourbe.^[3]

Noun

1. (dated) A cheat, a double-dealer.^[3][6][1]

Word family

• fourberie

Related words

• fourbir
• fourbi

Usage notes

The Grand Robert also has a feminine noun la fourbe “deceit, a deceitful act” (its second fourbe), now literary and dated: first as forbe about 1460, in the Mystère du siège d'Orléans, and as fourbe for a disposition to deceive in 1604.^[2][6][9] The Grand Robert derives it from the person noun; the TLFi and the GLLF make it a deverbal noun of fourbir and the source of the person noun.^[2][6][9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. 15/2, 190a
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF