lé

Forms

lé m (plural lés)^[1] Old French led, then lé from the 13th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Old French lé (“wide, broad”), an adjective used as a noun.^[3][2][4] The adjective, recorded from 1080 and used until the 16th century, when large replaced it, is from Latin lātus (“wide”).^[2][3][1] Old Latin had a form with initial ⟨stl-⟩ (stlātus in Littré);^[5][2] Rey connects it with sternō (“to spread out”).^[2]

Cognate with Old Occitan lat, Spanish lato and Italian lato.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

As led it meant “breadth” in the Livre des Rois (about 1170): trente piez de led “thirty feet wide”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “breadth” lived in the phrase de long en lé (13th century) and disappeared in the 17th century.^[2] From 1412 the word was specialised for the width of a cloth between its two selvedges, and by metonymy a strip of cloth of its full width.^[3][2] By analogy it named the width of a towpath (1690) and then the towpath itself (1812).^[3][2] Since 1930 it has also named the width of a strip of wallpaper.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1080 – The adjective lé “wide” appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[4][2]
• c. 1170 – Led “breadth” in the Livre des Rois.^[3]
• 1412 – First used for the width of a cloth between its selvedges.^[3][2]
• 16th century – The adjective lé goes out of use.^[2]
• 17th century – The general sense “breadth” disappears.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records it for the width of a towpath.^[3]
• 1812 – Mozin-Biber records the sense “towpath”.^[3]
• 1930 – It is used for the width of a strip of wallpaper.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) Breadth, width.^[3][1]
2. The width of a fabric between its two selvedges; a full-width strip of cloth: un rideau de trois lés.^[6][3]
3. Each vertical panel of a skirt.^[6][4]
4. A strip of wallpaper or other material in rolls, in its full width.^[6][3]
5. (technical) The width of a towpath; the towpath itself.^[6][3]

Related words

• large
• laize
• latitude
• Latin lātus

Usage notes

Lé is a synonym of laize.^[3][6] Littré records the old phrase tout du long et du lé “entirely”.^[5] It sounds like les and lez.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert