luth

Forms

luth m (plural luths)^[1] Old French leüt, written le'z in Jean de Meun (about 1275).^[2][3][4] Middle French luth (about 1380), lut (about 1534) and luc (1549).^[2][5][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French leüt, probably borrowed from Old Occitan laüt (“lute”),^[3][1][6] which goes back to Arabic العود (al-ʿūd, “the wood, the lute”), the noun عود (ʿūd) with the article ال (al-).^[2][4][7] The TLFi and the DHLF leave open whether French took it straight from Arabic, through Old Occitan lautz (late 13th century), or through Old Spanish alod (1254), alaut (about 1330) and laud (1343), whose first forms keep the Arabic article.^[2][4] Wiktionary also prefers the Occitan route and names the Spanish one as possible.^[1]

The same Arabic word gave Spanish laúd, Italian liuto and German Laute.^[8] Modern French has borrowed it again as oud for the Arab instrument.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears about 1275 in Jean de Meun's part of the Roman de la Rose, in a list of instruments beside harps and gigues: Si r'a guiternes et leüs (“there are also gitterns and lutes”).^[2][8] The present spelling ⟨luth⟩ dates from about 1380.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the poets of the Pléiade, following the example of lyre, made the lute a symbol of poetic inspiration: Du Bellay so used luc in 1549.^[2][4] The instrument was in great vogue from the 16th to the 18th century,^[9] and the figurative use survived in poetry, as in Musset's Poète, prends ton luth.^[9]

By likeness of shape the word named a large sea turtle without scales from the late 18th century (1784 in Daubenton);^[2][4] tortue luth is recorded in Larousse in 1902.^[5] The derivatives all belong to the instrument: luthier (1649, written lutier), now a maker of any stringed instruments,^[4][3] and lutherie (1767).^[4][3] English lute was taken from Old French in the late 13th century.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – Le'z appears in Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose.^[2]
• c. 1380 – The spelling luth is found in Jean Lefèvre.^[2][4]
• 1549 – Du Bellay uses luc for poetic inspiration.^[2][4]
• 1564 – Thierry's dictionary has luth.^[5]
• 1649 – Lutier, later luthier, is recorded.^[4][3]
• 1705 – Archiluth is borrowed from Italian.^[4]
• 1767 – Lutherie is recorded.^[4][3]
• 1784 – Daubenton uses it for a sea turtle.^[2][4]
• 1885 – Luthiste “lute player” is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lute, a stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and a wide neck, whose strings are plucked; it was brought to Europe by the Arabs.^[2][9]
2. (poetic) A symbol of lyric poetry and poetic inspiration.^[9][4]
3. The leatherback turtle, a large sea turtle whose shell has no scales; also tortue luth.^[9][4]

Word family

• luthier
• lutherie
• luthiste

Related words

• archiluth
• oud
• Arabic العود (al-ʿūd)

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 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert