guivre

Forms

guivre f (plural guivres)^[1] Old French and Anglo-Norman wivre, vivre and guivere.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg call the form givre an error of the dictionaries.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French guivre, inherited from Latin vīpera (“viper, snake”), altered to *wipera under the influence of the many Germanic words beginning with /w/.^[4][5][3][6] The initial ⟨gu-⟩ is the Germanic-influenced treatment also seen in guêpe.^[7][4] Old High German had wipera, itself borrowed from Latin.^[4][3] The dialect form vouivre goes back to the same word,^[5][1] and vipère is a later learned borrowing of the Latin word.^[3]

Cognate with Italian vipera, Occitan vibra, Catalan vibra, Spanish víbora and Portuguese víbora.^[8] Through Anglo-Norman wivre it gave Middle English wiver, from which English wyvern was formed about 1600.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), meaning a viper or snake: serpenz e guivres, dragun e averser “serpents and vipers, dragons and devils”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French guivre was a snake of uncertain species, or a fabulous serpent, until the 15th century.^[3][5] The Anglo-Norman texts also use it for a beam or girder and as an adjective, “venomous”.^[2] After the 15th century it survived mainly in heraldry, recorded from 1581, where it is a serpent shown swallowing a man.^[4][5][3] In the 19th century it was revived for a fabulous serpent guarding a treasure in tales, and Nerval used it in 1853 for a painted or carved figure of such a serpent.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Guivres “vipers” in the Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• Mid-13th century – Vuivre used in a roll of arms.^[4]
• 15th century – The word stops being used for a real snake.^[3][5]
• 1581 – Recorded as a heraldic term by Bara.^[4]
• c. 1600 – English wyvern is formed from Middle English wiver.^[9]
• 1853 – Nerval uses it for a painted figure of the serpent.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fabulous serpent that guards a treasure in some tales.^[4][1]
2. (heraldry) A serpent charge shown swallowing a man.^[4][10]
3. (painting) A figure of this serpent used as ornament.^[4]

Related words

• vouivre
• vipère
• Latin vipera
• English wyvern

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 487b
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert