frêne

Forms

frêne m (plural frênes)^[1] Old French fraisne (1080), freisne (about 1180), then fresne (1501) and frêne (17th century).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French fresne, inherited from Old French fraisne, inherited from Latin fraxinus (“ash tree”).^[5][2][6][1] The Old French forms have a diphthong, and the form with ⟨e⟩ is a later remaking.^[2] Littré notes that the Latin accent falls on ⟨fra-⟩.^[7] Rey calls the Latin word of unknown origin,^[2] while Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵos (“birch”).^[1]

Cognate with Italian frassino, Spanish fresno and Old Occitan fraisse.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) speaks of hanstes de fraisne, spear shafts of ash wood, naming both the tree and its wood.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense: a tree of temperate forests and, by metonymy, its wood.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Fraisne in the Chanson de Roland, which the GLLF and the Grand Robert date to 1080.^[5][3][4]
• c. 1180 – Freisne in Marie de France.^[2][3]
• 1280 – Fregnee, the ancestor of frênaie, is recorded.^[2][6]
• 1501 – The spelling fresne appears.^[2][4]
• 17th century – The spelling frêne appears.^[3][4]
• 1930 – frênette, a drink made from ash leaves, is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An ash tree, a common European tree of the olive family with light, hard and springy wood.^[8][5]
2. Its wood: un manche de pioche en frêne.^[8][3]

Word family

• frênaie
• frênette

Related words

• Latin fraxinus

References

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