friture

Forms

friture f (plural fritures)^[1] Anglo-Norman fritour, frytour and fruture.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *frictūra (“frying”), from the supine frictum of frīgō (“to roast, fry”).^[3][4][5] The DHLF, Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert call it a Late Latin word,^[6][7][8] and the GLLF notes that in Late Latin it meant “friction”.^[5] The TLFi also allows a French formation on the supine with the suffix -ure,^[3] and Wiktionary a formation from French frit + -ure.^[1]

Cognate with Italian frittura, Spanish fritura, Portuguese fritura and Romanian friptură.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Cambridge Psalter, in the first half of the 12th century,^[3][5] for fried food.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word first named fried foods, and on its own friture came to mean fried fish in France, though not in Belgium.^[6] It was then used for the fat used for frying (14th century) and for the act of frying (1690).^[6][5]

Bruit de friture passed by analogy to the crackling heard on the radio or telephone (1894, first as friture téléphonique in 1885);^[6][3][9] friture alone has this sense from 1907.^[5][9] The Old French word passed into English as fritter “fried batter cake” in the late 14th century.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – First record, in the Cambridge Psalter.^[3][5]
• c. 1398 – The Ménagier de Paris uses it for frying fat.^[5][11]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as fritter.^[10]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “act of frying”.^[5]
• 1885 – Friture téléphonique names crackling on the line.^[6]
• 1894 – Bruit de friture is recorded.^[3][9]
• 1907 – Friture alone means crackling, in the Larousse.^[5][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or way of frying food.^[12][3]
2. The fat or oil used for frying.^[12][11]
3. Fried food, especially small fried fish: une friture de goujons.^[12][11]
4. (familiar) crackling or interference on the radio or telephone, also bruit de friture.^[12][1]

Related words

• frire
• frite
• English fritter

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
12. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert