lame

Forms

lame f (plural lames)^[1] Old French lamme (about 1112); Anglo-Norman also had leme.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin lāmina (“thin piece of metal or wood, plate, leaf”), through the accusative lāminam.^[5][1][6] Latin also had the contracted form lāmna, found in Horace.^[7][8] Rey calls the Latin word a technical term of unknown origin, perhaps borrowed from another Italic language.^[2] The learned borrowing lamine is its doublet.^[1]

Meyer-Lübke lists Italian lamina (“sheet metal”) and, with dissimilation, Catalan llauna (“tin plate”) as outcomes of the same Latin word, and takes Italian lama and Old Occitan lama from French.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Voyage de saint Brendan, about 1121 according to the TLFi (about 1112 according to the DHLF and the GLLF), for a thin, narrow piece of metal.^[5][2][9]

Semantic evolution

The basic sense, a long, flat, thin strip of metal or another hard material, gave many later technical uses: the slats of a shutter (1787), the boards of a floor (lame de parquet, 1893) and the leaves of a carriage spring (lame de ressort, early 20th century).^[2][9] In Old French it also meant the stone slab over a grave (1176–81, Chrétien de Troyes); dalle displaced it in that sense, which went out of use in the 17th century.^[5][2] The thin thread of gold or silver woven into cloth is dated 1649 by the TLFi and 1653 by the DHLF.^[5][2]

The sense “blade of a sword or knife” dates from the early 14th century (1316–28, Ovide moralisé).^[5][2] By metonymy a qualified lame became a person: bonne lame (1656) and fine lame (1690) were said of a capable person before they meant a skilled fencer.^[2][5] In slang it meant a knife (1889), and une lame a brave man (1808 in the army).^[2] En lame de couteau describes a long, thin face (Balzac, 1831 or 1832).^[5][2]

By analogy it named a large wave thinned at its crest: Cotgrave records it in 1611 according to the TLFi, while the DHLF dates it to the end of the 15th century.^[5][2] Lame sourde (1845) and lame de fond (1873) followed, the latter also for a deep, irresistible movement.^[2] In botany it names the gills of a mushroom (1764).^[5][2]

Timeline

• c. 1121 – Lamme appears in the Voyage de saint Brendan (dated about 1112 by the DHLF).^[5][2]
• 1176–81 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for a tombstone.^[5]
• 1316–28 – The Ovide moralisé uses it for the blade of a weapon.^[5]
• End of the 15th century – First used for a large wave.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the sense “wave”.^[5]
• 1649 – Used for a thin strip of precious metal in braid.^[5]
• 1690 – Furetière records fine lame for a sharp, skilful person.^[5]
• 1764 – Used for the gills of a mushroom.^[5]
• 1787 – Used for the slats of a shutter.^[9][2]
• 1873 – Lame de fond “ground swell” appears.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A thin, flat strip of metal or another hard material (wood, glass).^[10][11]
2. The cutting part of a knife, razor, saw or other tool; a blade.^[11][1]
3. (literary) A sword;^[11][5] une fine lame, a skilled swordsman.^[11][5]
4. Each of the slats of a shutter or blind;^[10][11] lame de parquet, a floorboard.^[10][11]
5. A thin strip of gold or silver woven into fabrics (see lamé).^[11][10]
6. Each of the gills under the cap of a mushroom.^[5][9]
7. A tarot card.^[11][1]
8. A wave of the sea;^[11][2] lame de fond, a ground swell, also a sudden, violent upheaval.^[11][2]

Word family

• lamé
• lamette
• brise-lames

Related words

• lamellaire
• lamelle
• lamer
• laminer
• lamine
• Latin lāmina

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ 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 j k l m n o p q r s 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, 140b
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)