jeun

Forms

jeun (invariable)^[1] Old French jeün, an adjective until the 16th century;^[2][3] Anglo-Norman spellings include jun, geun and juin.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French jeün (“fasting”), inherited from Latin iēiūnus (“having eaten nothing, fasting”), which also meant “dry, meagre, lacking” figuratively.^[5][1][6] The phrase is formed with the preposition à.^[5]

The adjective went out of use in the 16th century, probably because its feminine was hard to tell apart from jeune “young”; its masculine then survived only as a noun in that phrase.^[7][8]

Cognate with Italian digiuno, Occitan jejun, Catalan dejú, Spanish ayuno and Portuguese jejum.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective is recorded in 1174 in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's Saint Thomas, meaning fasting, not having eaten; the phrase à jeun follows in 1216 in Guillaume le Clerc's Fergus.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French jeün was a full adjective: the Roman de la Rose speaks of serving someone à saoul et à jeün, full and fasting, and Froissart of soldiers who were tous jeuns.^[2] After the adjective disappeared, only the adverbial phrase remained.^[7][8]

À jeun came to mean with an empty stomach in general (1552, Rabelais),^[10] and in the language of the Catholic Church être à jeun meant keeping the fast before communion, having neither eaten nor drunk since midnight (1690, Furetière).^[10][2] From 1846, in George Sand, it is used familiarly of a drinker who has not yet had anything to drink that day.^[10][8]

Timeline

• 1174 – The adjective jeün appears in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[5][8]
• 1216 – À jeun appears in Guillaume le Clerc's Fergus.^[5][8]
• 1552 – Rabelais uses à jeun for “on an empty stomach”.^[10]
• 16th century – The adjective goes out of use.^[3][8]
• 1690 – Furetière records être à jeun of the fast before communion.^[10]
• 1846 – George Sand uses it of a drinker who has not yet drunk.^[10][8]

Meanings

Adverb

1. À jeun: without having eaten, on an empty stomach: Il faut faire cette analyse à jeun.^[11][5]
2. (Catholicism) Être à jeun: to have neither eaten nor drunk since midnight, before communion.^[5][2]
3. (familiar) Of a heavy drinker: not yet having had a drink, sober.^[11][5]

Related words

• jeûne
• jeûner
• déjeuner
• dîner
• Latin iēiūnus

Usage notes

Jeun is used only in the phrase à jeun, which can act as an adverb or an adjective (un estomac à jeun).^[5][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 34a
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert