hameau

Forms

hameau m (plural hameaux)^[1] Old French hamel (nominative hamiaus); the form hameau is recorded from the 13th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French hamel, a diminutive formed from Old French ham (“small village”) + -el.^[5][2][6] Old French “ham” is found mostly in place names of northern France and goes back to Frankish *haim (“small village”),^[2][6][7][8] from Proto-Germanic *haimaz.^[1] The Frankish word is related to German Heim (“home”) and English home.^[5][2][6]

The Old French word survives in the place names Le Hamel, Hamelet, Hamelin and Hem, and in surnames such as Duhamel.^[5][2] The Picard form is ham or hem.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hamel is first found about 1170 in Denis Piramus's Vie de saint Edmond, a few lines from ham “small village”, for a small group of rural houses.^[5][9][4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense of a group of rural dwellings lying apart from the village and attached to a commune.^[5][2] It belongs to the northern langue d'oïl area; in the south of France village is still used where the north says hameau.^[2] In 1968 it became a military term in hameau stratégique, a fortified settlement used as a point of resistance against guerrillas.^[2][9]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Hamel in Denis Piramus's Vie de saint Edmond.^[9][4][2]
• Mid-13th century – The form hameau appears.^[4][9]
• 1968 – Hameau stratégique is recorded as a military term.^[2][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hamlet, a small group of rural houses away from the main village and not forming a commune of its own: Le facteur passe deux fois par semaine au hameau.^[10][5][1]
2. Hameau stratégique: a fortified settlement held against guerrillas.^[9][2]

Related words

• hanter
• Frankish *haim
• German Heim
• English home

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 119b
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3993
9. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert