Etymologically
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larme

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /laʁm/[1]

Forms

larme f (plural larmes)[1] Old French lerme, lairme (about 1050); larme, influenced by the Latin form, about 1196 (Jean Bodel).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lerme, inherited from Latin lacrima (“tear; drop of gum”), older “lacruma” and “dacruma”.[4][5][6][3][7][1] Rey thinks the Latin word was probably borrowed, first in poetry, from Ancient Greek δάκρυμα (dákruma, “what is wept”), from δάκρυ (dákru, “tear”); the word is Indo-European, with counterparts in Celtic, Armenian and Germanic, such as Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr) and English tear.[5][8] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru-.[1]

Compare Old Occitan lagrema, Catalan llàgrima, Spanish lágrima and Italian lagrima.[8][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has lermes, the liquid flowing from the eye.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Set phrases appear early: chaldes lermes (about 1170) and plorer a chaudes lermes (1180–1200), en larmes fondre (early 13th century), larmes de cocodrile (1560), la lerme a l'œil (about 1501, Quemada finds la larme à l'œil in the Satyre Ménippée, 1595).[4][5][9] Figuratively it meant sorrow in la valede de lermes (Oxford Psalter), from the Salve Regina.[4][5] From the early 13th century it was a drop, a small quantity, now familiar in une larme de cognac.[4][5] It also named a tear-shaped ornament (about 1462), a pearl (1483), sap (larme de la vigne, 1538) and a drop of resin (1575).[4] Chateaubriand's larmes du matin (1803) are dew.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Lermes, Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • c. 1180 – Plorer a chaudes lermes.[4]
  • c. 1196 – The form larme, Jean Bodel.[2]
  • early 13th century – A drop.[4]
  • 1560 – Larmes de cocodrile.[4]
  • 1595 – La larme à l'œil.[9]
  • 1746 – Toutes les larmes de son corps.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A tear: fondre en larmes, pleurer à chaudes larmes, rire aux larmes, larmes de crocodile.[10][1]
  2. (literary) Grief, sorrow: une vallée de larmes.[5][4]
  3. (familiar) A drop, a tiny amount: une larme de lait.[11][1]
  4. Avoir la larme à l'œil: to be on the verge of tears.[1][2]
  5. A tear-shaped drop of sap or resin; a tear-shaped ornament.[4]

Word family

  • larmoyer
  • larmoyant
  • larmier
  • larmer

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 118b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)