hangar

Forms

hangar m (plural hangars)^[1] Earlier hangart, found as a place name in Picardy from 1135.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Frankish *haimgard (“enclosure around the house”),^{[2][4][3][1][5]} a compound of *haim (“small village”) (the source of hameau) and *gard (“enclosure”) (the source of jardin).^[2][3][6] The word is Picard first: ⟨Hangart⟩ is a place name in the Somme from 1135, in a region where farm buildings are traditionally arranged around the yard, and it spread into French later.^[2][4][3][7] The present spelling with final ⟨ar⟩ is a respelling of the older form in ⟨art⟩.^[3]

Pierre Guiraud proposed instead a compound of han (“shelter for cattle”), from the same Frankish word, and garer, meaning to put under shelter;^[3][8] Rey thinks the influence of this verb likely whatever the truth of this.^[3][8] Following Du Cange, Littré derived it from Medieval Latin angarium (“place where horses are shod”), an explanation that Scheler accepted and Diez rejected.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apart from the place name, the word is first recorded in 1337 in a cartulary from Corbie, in Picardy.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Hangar has kept the sense of a roughly built shelter for farm equipment, crops or goods.^[3][2] In the 20th century it came to mean a shed for aircraft (hangar d'aviation, 1922), and then for all kinds of equipment and vehicles.^[3][6] In Canada it is used regionally for a shed or outbuilding (1894).^[10]

English took the word in 1852 for a carriage shed, and it has been used for aircraft there since 1902, after French.^[11]

Timeline

• 1135 – Hangart is recorded as a place name in Picardy.^[2][3]
• 1337 – First record as a common noun, at Corbie.^[2][4]
• 1852 – English hangar “carriage shed” is borrowed.^[11]
• 1894 – Recorded in Canada in the sense “shed”.^[10]
• 1922 – Larousse records hangar d'aviation.^[6][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shed made of a roof on posts, open or closed, for sheltering farm equipment, crops, goods or vehicles.^[10][2][12]
2. A large closed building for aircraft or boats, a hangar.^[10][12]
3. (Canada) A shed or outbuilding.^[10]

Related words

• hameau
• jardin
• English hangar

Usage notes

The ⟨h⟩ is aspirated: there is no elision or liaison before it (le hangar).^[8][12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 120a
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale