hérisser

Forms

hérisser^[1] Old French hericer, hericier.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French hericer, inherited from Vulgar Latin *ericiō, from Latin ērīcius (“hedgehog”), “to stand up like the hedgehog's spines”, said of hair or feathers.^{[5][2][4][1][6]} Medieval Latin has the participle iriciatus in the 9th century.^[2] The French ⟨h⟩, which is aspirated, is of expressive origin according to Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert;^[4][3] Rey also allows the influence of Latin hirsūtus (“hairy, shaggy”) or an archaic Latin initial ⟨h⟩.^[2]

Cognate with Italian arricciare, Spanish erizar, Portuguese erriçar and Old Occitan erissar.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1140 in Geffrei Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis, used intransitively of the flesh creeping with fear: Tute la char l'en heriçot.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is “to bristle” (hair, feathers), used intransitively (about 1140), reflexively of an animal (about 1160, Eneas) and transitively (about 1165, Benoît de Sainte-Maure).^[5][2] From the 16th century the verb is also used of people: Montaigne writes of hair standing on end in 1595.^[5][2] The reflexive verb meant very early (end of the 12th century) “to rise up, revolt”, and then “to bristle with irritation”.^[5][2]

The participle hericé “covered with sharp points” is found at the end of the 12th century in Denis Piramus, and the reflexive verb in this sense in Du Bellay (1558).^[5][2] Figuratively it came to mean “to fill with forbidding or difficult things”, and hérissé “strewn with difficulties” (1586) also took the archaic sense “showing off one's learning”, as in être hérissé de grec.^[2] In masonry, recorded in the Trévoux supplement of 1752, it means to roughcast a wall.^[5][7]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – Geffrei Gaimar uses it intransitively.^[5][2]
• c. 1160 – The reflexive is used of an animal raising its hair, in Eneas.^[5][2]
• c. 1165 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it transitively.^[5][2]
• end of the 12th century – Hericé “covered with points” and the reflexive “to revolt” appear.^[5][2]
• 1418 – The noun hérissement is first recorded, as héricement.^[2]
• 1595 – Montaigne uses it of a person's hair standing on end.^[5][2]
• 1752 – The masonry sense is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) Of an animal, to bristle or ruffle its hair, feathers or spines: Le chien hérissait son poil devant l'inconnu.^[8][1]
2. To make hair or feathers stand on end: Le froid lui hérissait la peau.^[8]
3. Of pointed things, to stick up from a surface: Des épines hérissent la tige.^[8][7]
4. Hérisser de: to spike or set something with sharp, projecting objects: hérisser un mur de tessons,^[5][7] also (figurative) to fill with difficulties.^[7][2]
5. (figurative, familiar) To irritate someone, to get their back up.^[1][2]
6. (masonry) To roughcast a wall.^[5][7]
7. (reflexive) se hérisser: to stand on end, to bristle, also (figurative) to bristle with anger or resistance.^[7][2]

Word family

• hérissé
• hérissement

Related words

• hérisson
• Latin ērīcius

Usage notes

The ⟨h⟩ is aspirated, so the pronoun is not elided: se hérisser.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 238a
7. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert