jumeau

Forms

jumeau m (plural jumeaux, feminine jumelle)^[1] Old French jumel, earlier gemel, gemeau.^[2][1][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French jumel, inherited from Latin gemellus (“twin”), a diminutive of geminus (“twin”), which it replaced for its greater expressiveness.^[4][5][6] The /ə/ of the first syllable became /y/ under the influence of the two labial consonants around it, and the new form soon replaced gemeau, which survives in the parlers of the east and in the astrological gémeau.^[4][5][7]

Cognate with Italian gemello, Spanish gemelo, Portuguese gémeo and Romanian geamăn.^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1165 as a noun for children born at one birth, in Guillaume d'Angleterre, attributed to Chrétien de Troyes.^[4][5] The adjective follows at the end of the 12th century in Floire et Blancheflor: sa suer jumele “her twin sister”.^[4][9]

Semantic evolution

Jumeau lives in the northern dialects, while the south and the centre of France say besson, from Vulgar Latin *bissus of Gallo-Roman, from bis (“twice”);^[5][7][4] besson was common in Old French until the 16th century and is now regional.^[5][7][4] By extension the adjective was applied from the late 12th century to things exactly alike.^[4][5]

In anatomy the twin muscles of the calf have been jumeaux since 1747, a sense once given to gémeau, and in butchery a cut from the shoulder of beef (1931).^[4][5] The feminine jumelle specialized in technical uses and has meant binoculars since 1829.^[5][7] Vrais and faux jumeaux are recorded in 1941 in Jean Rostand.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1165 – First recorded as a noun in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[4]
• Late 12th century – Used as an adjective, and of things alike.^[4]
• 1747 – The anatomical sense, for paired muscles.^[4][5]
• 1765 – The derived verb jumeler.^[7][5]
• 1931 – The butchery sense.^[4][5]
• 1941 – Vrais jumeaux and faux jumeaux in Jean Rostand.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Twin, born at the same birth as another: frère jumeau, sœur jumelle.^[3][10]
2. Exactly alike, forming a pair: Les deux maisons sont jumelles.^[3][4]

Noun

1. A twin: vrais jumeaux (identical twins), faux jumeaux (fraternal twins).^[3][10]
2. (anatomy, in the plural) The twin muscles of the calf or the hip.^[4][5]
3. (butchery) A cut of beef from the shoulder.^[4][5]

Word family

• jumeler
• jumelage

Related words

• jumelle
• gémeau
• gémellité
• géminer
• Latin gemellus

Usage notes

In the south and centre of France the old word besson is still used regionally for “twin”;^[7] George Sand used it in La Petite Fadette (1848).^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 90b
7. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse