juin

Forms

juin m (plural juins)^[1] Anglo-Norman spellings include jun, juing and joyn.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French juin, inherited from Latin iūnius (“June”), used with mēnsis (“month”), the month of June.^[3][4][1][5] The origin of the Latin name is disputed: the TLFi and the Robert explain it as the month of Lucius Junius Brutus, the first consul of Rome,^[3][6] the GLLF as an adjective from the name of the Roman family Junius,^[7] while Littré takes it as the month sacred to the goddess Latin Iūnō;^[8][4] Rey gives both explanations.^[8][4]

Cognate with Italian giugno, Occitan junh, Catalan juny and Portuguese junho, Meyer-Lübke brackets Spanish junio as not a regular outcome.^[9][8] Dialect forms include Burgundian jeun and Berry jun.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1119 in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, a treatise on the calendar, as the name of the sixth month.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its single sense, the sixth month of the year, from Old French to the present.^[4][3] A 13th-century romance of Merlin speaks of the first day of June, when the sweet season returns and the woods come into leaf.^[8] A 16th-century proverb, en juin, juillet et aoust, ni femme ni choux, advised abstinence in the summer months.^[8] In hunting language mi-juin, mi-graisse said that stags begin to grow fat in the middle of June.^[8]

In history les journées de juin names the workers' rising of June 1848, put down by Cavaignac.^[4][10]

Timeline

• 1119 – Philippe de Thaon's Comput has the first record.^[3]
• 13th century – The Roman de Merlin writes le premier jor de juin.^[8]
• 16th century – The proverb en juin, juillet et aoust, ni femme ni choux is recorded.^[8]
• 1848 – The June rising later gives the historical term journées de juin.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. June, the sixth month of the year, of thirty days: le 14 juin, à la mi-juin.^[11][3][12]

Related words

• Latin iūnius

Usage notes

The plural is rare: the Petit Robert marks des juins fleuris as uncommon.^[11] The construction le 2 de juin is dated; modern French says le 2 juin.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 76a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)