gencive

Forms

gencive f (plural gencives)^[1] Judeo-French jencives (late 11th century), Walloon genchives (about 1130) and Anglo-Norman gingives (about 1290).^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also has gengive and gensive.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin gingīva (“gum”).^[2][5][6][1] The ⟨c⟩ comes from dissimilation of the second /g/ of the Latin word.^[2][5][3] The GLLF starts from a Vulgar Latin *gincīva.^[7] Wiktionary traces the Latin word to Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁-.^[1]

Cognate with Italian gengiva, Portuguese gengiva, Romanian gingie, Occitan gengiva, Catalan geniva and Spanish encía.^[8][9] Berry has gendive.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 11th century as Judeo-French jencives in Rashi's glosses, meaning the gums.^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

The DHLF describes gencive as a 12th-century remaking of the older forms genchives and jencives.^[3] Joinville, about 1309, writes of rotten flesh growing es gencives of the sick.^[9] By extension the word came to mean the mouth or jaw, and in the 20th century the figurative dans les gencives “in the face” appeared.^[3][7]

Timeline

• late 11th century – Jencives appears in Rashi's glosses.^[2]
• c. 1130 – Walloon genchives in the Vers del Juise.^[2]
• 12th century – The form gencive.^[3][10]
• c. 1290 – Anglo-Norman gingives in Walter of Bibbesworth.^[2]
• 20th century – Dans les gencives “in the face”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The gum, the part of the mucous membrane of the mouth that covers the jaws and surrounds the base of the teeth (usually plural).^[11][2][1]
2. (familiar) The jaw or teeth, the mouth: dans les gencives “in the face”.^[11][7][3]

Related words

• gingival
• gingivite
• Latin gingīva

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 137a
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert