huile

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɥil/^[1]
• IPA: /wil/^[1]

Forms

huile f (plural huiles)^[1] Old French oile, olie (12th century), uile (13th century), huile (1260); the h was added so that uile would not be read as vile, u also standing for v.^[2][3][4][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oile, inherited from Latin oleum (“olive oil; oil”),^{[2][3][5][1][6]} derived from olea (“olive; olive tree”), from Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía, “olive”);^[2][1] Rey makes “oleum” a Latin form of ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”), a Mediterranean, pre-Indo-European word, of the same family as olive.^[3][7] The French form was influenced everywhere by the Latin one.^[5][8]

Cognate with Occitan oli, Catalan oli, Italian olio and Portuguese óleo;^[7][8] English oil was taken from Old French “oile” in the 13th century.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cambridge Psalter (first half of the 12th century) translates Psalm 23 impinguasti in oleo as tu encressas en oile mun chief, “you anointed my head with oil”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Leaving the Mediterranean, the word soon named other fatty liquids than olive oil: the Livre des métiers (1260) already has huile de olives, amandes, de nois, de cheneviz et de pavoz; later came huile d'arachide (1801), huile de ricin (1831) and huile de foie de morue (1836), and mineral oils.^[2][3][9] Painting à l'huile is recorded in 1752.^[2]

Phrases draw on the oil's smoothness, mer d'huile “glassy sea”, its spreading, faire tache d'huile (1872), and its burning, jeter de l'huile sur le feu (1546; 17th century).^[3][10] Huile de coude, “elbow grease”, is a joke.^[1] In soldiers' slang (1887) a huile is a bigwig.^[2][1]

Timeline

• first half of the 12th century – Oile (Cambridge Psalter).^[2][3]
• 1260 – Huile, of olives, almonds, walnuts, hemp and poppy.^[2][3]
• 1546 – Jeter de l'huile sur le feu.^[10]
• 1752 – Peindre à l'huile.^[2]
• 1872 – Faire tache d'huile.^[3]
• 1887 – A bigwig, in soldiers' slang.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Oil, a fatty liquid of plant, animal or mineral origin: huile d'olive, huile de moteur.^[7][1]
2. An oil painting; painting in oils: peinture à l'huile.^[9][2]
3. Jeter de l'huile sur le feu: to add fuel to the fire^[3][10]; faire tache d'huile: to spread steadily.^[3][10]
4. (familiar) A bigwig, an important person.^[1][2]

Word family

• huilage
• huiler
• huilerie
• huileux
• huilier

Related words

• olive
• oléagineux
• Latin oleum
• English oil

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 341b
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF