goéland

Forms

goéland m (plural goélands, feminine goélande)^[1] Older spellings gaellans (1484), goilant (late 16th century), goilan (1642) and goiland (1757); goéland is first found in Buffon.^[2][3] Littré still spells it goëland.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Breton gwelan (“gull”).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary gives the Breton word as gouelan.^[1] The Breton word goes back to an Old Celtic form *voilenno-, which is also the source of Welsh gwylan and Cornish guilan.^[2][3][6] The many early French spellings are usual for an old loanword.^[3]

English gull probably comes from the same Brythonic word.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded at the end of the 15th century (1484) as gaellans, in Garcie's Grand routier de la mer, a book of sailing directions.^[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The form took three centuries to settle: goilant in Palissy (late 16th century), goilan in Duez's dictionary (1642), goiland in the Encyclopédie (1757), and goéland in Buffon.^[2][3] Buffon remarked in 1781 that some naturalists called goélands the birds that others called mouettes.^[2] In current use the word names the larger gulls, whose head feathers form no hood.^[7]

Timeline

• 1484 – First record, as gaellans, in Garcie.^[7][5]
• late 16th century – Palissy writes goilant.^[2]
• 1642 – Duez's dictionary has goilan.^[2]
• 1757 – The Encyclopédie has goiland.^[2]
• 1781 – Buffon uses the spelling goéland.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large gull, a web-footed seabird with white plumage and a grey or black back, living in colonies: le goéland argenté, the herring gull.^[2][8][7][1]

Related words

• mouette
• Breton gwelan
• English gull

Usage notes

Outside Brittany the French pronunciation /ɡɔ.e.lɑ̃/ has won; in Brittany people say [gwalɑ̃] or [gwɛlɑ̃], shortened to [gwɛl].^[3][5]

References

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