grotte

Forms

grotte f (plural grottes)^[1] First as grote (1280); grotte from 1537.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian grotta (“cave”), borrowed twice: first in 1280 and in a few Italianising texts of the 14th century, then again in the 16th century.^[2][4] The Italian word, used for a natural cavity from 1300–13 in Dante and earlier for a steep rock face, comes from Latin crypta (“vault, crypt”), pronounced with /u/, as in crupta.^[2][4][5] This is κρυπτή (kruptḗ, “underground passage, crypt”), from the verb for “to cover, hide”.^[4][1]

The word displaced Old French crote and croute “cave”, the regular outcome of the Latin word, found from about 1223 to 1671 and still in the dialects;^[2][4][6] the GLLF cites the form crute from the Chanson de Roland.^[7][5] It is a doublet of crypte.^[1] Compare Old Occitan crota;^[8] Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese have gruta, which Meyer-Lübke takes from the Italian word.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The isolated first record, grote in 1280, is in documents in French from the Angevin archives of Naples.^[2] The modern word starts with the 1537 translation of Castiglione's Courtisan and Ronsard (1555).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In modern French the word applies only to natural caves, but in classical French it also named an artificial ornamental grotto built in the Italian manner.^[4] Italian had used grotta both for the cavity and for the buried ancient buildings uncovered by archaeology, which is where grotesque comes from.^[4] English grotto was taken from Italian in the 1610s.^[9]

Timeline

• 1280 – Grote, in documents from the Angevin archives of Naples.^[2]
• early 14th century – Grote in the Gestes des Chiprois.^[2]
• 1537 – Grotte in the translation of Castiglione's Courtisan.^[2][3]
• 1555 – Ronsard uses grotte.^[2]
• 1671 – Last record of the old word crote.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large natural cave in rock or in the side of a mountain: explorer une grotte, grotte marine.^[10][2]
2. A man-made cave or grotto, such as a garden grotto.^[10][2]

Related words

• crypte
• grotesque
• Latin crypta
• English grotto

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 l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert