Etymologically
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ligne

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Pronunciation

Forms

ligne f (plural lignes)[1] Old French lign (masculine, 1080) “lineage”, ligne “cord” about 1140.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin līnea (“linen thread, string; line”), the feminine used as a noun of līneus (“of flax”), from līnum (“flax”) (whence lin).[4][3][5][2][1][6] In Latin it named a linen thread, then any cord, and by analogy a drawn or geometrical line; in imperial and later Latin it was also a line of descent.[3][4] Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense “fishing line” was already Latin.[5]

Cognate with Italian linea, Old Occitan linha and Spanish línea.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) lign, masculine, is a family line, the members of one lineage.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Until the 16th century ligne named a lineage, a sense later left to lignage and lignée.[3] As a cord it is found about 1140, and as a fishing line in Chrétien de Troyes (1181–90).[4] The idea of a drawn stroke followed (1165–70, a dividing line; a pen stroke in the 13th century), and with it a line of writing (mid-13th century), à la ligne (1685) and entrer en ligne de compte (after Montaigne's mettre en ligne de compte, 1570).[4][3]

A row of soldiers or fortifications gave the military senses (1640–62) and en première ligne (1829); a continuous direction gave ligne de conduite and la droite ligne (1538).[4][3] The 19th century brought the telegraph line (1800), the railway line (1817) and the regular transport service (1837–39).[4][8] The figure of a body, avoir de la ligne (1872), and garder la ligne “to stay slim” are later, en ligne “online” is a computing sense.[4][3][1] The old measure ligne, a twelfth of an inch, dates from 1289.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Lign “lineage”, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1140 – “Cord”, Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.[4]
  • 1181–90 – A fishing line, Chrétien de Troyes.[4]
  • Mid-13th century – A line of writing.[4]
  • 1289 – A twelfth of an inch.[4]
  • 1570 – Mettre en ligne de compte, Montaigne.[4]
  • 1662 – A line of troops.[4]
  • 1800 – Ligne télégraphique.[4]
  • 1837 – A regular transport route.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A line, stroke: tracer une ligne droite, ligne d'arrivée.[9][1]
  2. A line of writing or print: aller à la ligne, lire entre les lignes.[1][3]
  3. A row, (military) a line of troops or fortifications: en première ligne.[3][4]
  4. A route, service: ligne de métro, ligne aérienne, avion de ligne.[1][8]
  5. A wire, cable: ligne téléphonique, ligne à haute tension, en ligne, online.[1][3]
  6. A fishing line: pêcher à la ligne.[3][7]
  7. A course of action, direction: ligne de conduite, la ligne du parti.[3][1]
  8. The figure, outline of the body: garder la ligne.[1][4]
  9. (dated) A lineage: en ligne directe.[3][7]

Word family

  • aligner
  • alignement
  • lignage
  • lignée
  • interligne
  • souligner
  • ligner

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 350a
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)