lis

Forms

lis m (invariable)^[1] Also spelled lys (14th century), a spelling not used in the 17th and 18th centuries and common again since the 19th.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lis, the plural of lil, inherited from Latin lilium (“lily”).^{[4][5][2][6][1]} The plural replaced the singular early; the TLFi finds the singular only in Béroul's Tristan.^[4][6] Wiktionary explains the form as both the old nominative singular and the accusative plural.^[1] Littré notes the 12th-century spelling lilie, written after the Latin though pronounced in one syllable.^[7]

Rey thinks the Latin word, like Ancient Greek λείριον (leírion), came from a Mediterranean language, perhaps Coptic.^[2] Cognate with Old Occitan lili, Catalan lliri, Spanish lirio and Italian giglio.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Roman de Thèbes (about 1150), naming the plant.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Very early the lily became a symbol of purity and virtue (about 1223), and the fleur de lis stood for the Virgin in Gautier de Coinci.^[4][2] In heraldry fleur de lis names the stylized figure (about 1225); since the royal arms bore three gold lilies on blue, it came to stand for the French royal family (14th century) and les lis for the kingdom of France.^[4][2] From the late 16th century the fleur de lis was also the brand burned on the shoulder of some convicts.^[4][2]

By analogy the word entered other plant names: lis d'étang “water lily” (1583), lis des vallées “lily of the valley” (1680), perhaps a calque of the English name, and lis de Saint-Jacques “amaryllis” (1840).^[4][2]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – First recorded in the Roman de Thèbes.^[4]
• c. 1223 – Gautier de Coinci uses la fleurs de lis for the Virgin.^[4]
• c. 1225 – First heraldic use, in Durmart le Gallois.^[4]
• 14th century – The spelling lys appears.^[2]
• 1538 – The derivative liseron is recorded.^[2]
• 1583 – Lis d'étang “water lily” is recorded.^[4]
• 1680 – Richelet records lis des vallées “lily of the valley”.^[4]
• 1840 – Lis de Saint-Jacques “amaryllis” is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lily, a bulbous plant with lance-shaped leaves and large flowers.^[3][4][1]
2. The white flower of the common lily;^[3][7] blanc comme un lis, un teint de lis et de roses.^[3][7]
3. (literary) The lily as a symbol of purity and innocence.^[3][4]
4. (heraldry) Fleur de lis: the stylized lily of the French royal arms, and by extension the French monarchy.^[4][2]

Word family

• liseron
• fleur de lis
• fleurdeliser

Related words

• liliacées
• lilial
• Latin lilium

Usage notes

Littré reports that the Académie pronounced the final ⟨s⟩ for the flower but not in fleur de lis as the arms of the Bourbons.^[7] Wiktionary explains the final /s/ as the old pausal pronunciation, as in fils and ours.^[1]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e 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 p 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 336a
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette