if

Forms

if m (plural ifs)^[1] Anglo-Norman yf, iff, hif.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Gaulish *ivos (“yew”),^{[3][4][5][6][7]} a word that Bloch and Wartburg say is attested in an inscription.^[8] The Celtic languages have Old Irish eó and Welsh yw;^[3][4] Breton ivin may be borrowed from French.^[3][4] The Germanic languages have the same word, in Old High German īwa, German Eibe, Old English īw and English yew,^[3][4] but Bloch and Wartburg stress that the French word does not come from Germanic,^[8] and Rey thinks the Germanic words are borrowed from Celtic.^[4] Littré had derived it from Old High German, or from Celtic, which he thought here coincides with German.^[9] Wiktionary gives a northern Vulgar Latin *ivus between the Celtic or Germanic word and French, and traces both to Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw-.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), in the line En Saragoce descendent sous un if “at Saragossa they dismount under a yew”.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The tree is planted for ornament in parks, gardens and cemeteries, and is often clipped into cones and pyramids.^[3][6] By likeness to a yew clipped into a pyramid, if named in 1834 a triangular wooden frame that carries lamps for public illuminations,^[3][4] and since 1858 if à bouteilles, a draining rack for bottles.^[4][10]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – First record, in the Chanson de Roland.^[3][5]
• 12th century – Benoît de Sainte-Maure describes un grant if.^[9]
• 1834 – Boiste records the illumination frame.^[3][4]
• 1835 – The Académie records the same sense.^[10]
• 1858 – If à bouteilles “bottle rack” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A yew, an evergreen conifer with dark narrow leaves and red berries, grown for ornament; as in une allée bordée d'ifs taillés; the common yew is Taxus baccata.^[3][6]
2. A triangular frame carrying lampions for public illuminations.^[3][9]
3. If à bouteilles: a spiked cone used as a rack for draining bottles.^[6][4]

Word family

• ivette

Related words

• English yew

Usage notes

Bloch and Wartburg list the derivatives iveteau “young yew” (1690) and ivette (1762), a plant also called germandrée petit if.^[8] If is a homophone of hyphe.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 826a
8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse