hiverner

Forms

hiverner^[1] Old French iverner, yverner;^[2][3] Middle French hyverner (1559, Amyot); the spelling hiverner is recorded in 1636.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French iverner, inherited from Latin hībernō (“to spend the winter, to be in winter quarters”).^[4][1][2] The Latin verb is derived from hībernus (“wintry”).^[5][2] The French form was shaped by hiver;^[5][6] Rey treats the word as taken from Latin under the influence of that noun rather than inherited.^[7]

Cognate with Occitan ivernar, Spanish invernar and Italian invernare.^[3] The learned doublet is hiberner.^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in the Chronique d'Ernoul (1190–1205), meaning “to spend the winter under shelter”.^[4][7] The Grand Robert and the GLLF note an earlier, impersonal use of iverner in the 12th century, “to be wintry weather”.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first used of troops and ships that stopped for the winter, as Latin hibernare was of an army in winter quarters;^[7][2] Villehardouin has it about 1207.^[7][2] In the 13th century it was said of livestock kept in the stable through the winter,^[4][7] and in 1763 of silkworm eggs kept over the winter.^[4][7]

As a farming term it meant “to plough (land) before winter”, first of a vineyard in Olivier de Serres (1600).^[4][7][3] In the 19th century it widened to “spend the winter (somewhere)”,^[7] and naturalists use it of birds and other animals that winter in a mild place.^[6][2] Today it is said above all of ships held in polar ice.^[2]

Timeline

• 1190–1205 – Iverner “to winter under shelter” in the Chronique d'Ernoul.^[4]
• c. 1207 – Villehardouin uses it of troops.^[2][3]
• 13th century – Used of cattle kept in the stable over the winter.^[4][7]
• 1559 – Amyot spells it hyverner.^[2]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres uses it for ploughing a vineyard before winter.^[4][3]
• 1636 – The spelling hiverner is recorded by Monet.^[2]
• 1763 – Said of silkworm eggs kept through the winter.^[4]
• 1888 – Maupassant has the noun hivernant “winter visitor”.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of ships or troops: to spend the winter under shelter, to take winter quarters.^[6][4]
2. (intransitive, zoology) Of animals: to spend the winter in a sheltered or mild place, to overwinter.^[6][2]
3. (transitive, agriculture) To plough land before winter.^[6][3]
4. (transitive) To keep livestock in the stable through the winter.^[6][4]

Word family

• hivernage
• hivernant

Related words

• hiver
• hiberner
• Latin hībernus

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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France