lutrin

Forms

lutrin m (plural lutrins)^[1] Old French letrin, used until the 17th century, also letrain (Rabelais, 1546) and lettrin;^[2][3][4] lutrin is found once in the 14th century and in dictionaries from Cotgrave (1611).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French letrin, inherited from Vulgar Latin *lectrinum, a derivative of lectrum (“lectern”) (6th–7th century), which was formed on lēctum, the supine of legō (“to read”).^[2][3][5][6] The ⟨e⟩ became ⟨u⟩ under the influence of lu, the past participle of lire¹.^[2][3][5] The GLLF gives the popular Latin form as *lectorinum, from Late Latin lēctōrium,^[7] the etymon under which the FEW files it.^[8] Littré took the Late Latin word from Ancient Greek λέκτρον (léktron, “bed”).^[4]

The English word lectern comes from the Old French variant letron.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1135 as letrin in the Couronnement de Louis, naming the church lectern that holds the choir books.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Boileau's mock-heroic poem Le Lutrin spread the word in the 17th century.^[3][6] By metonymy it named the singers at the lectern (Académie, 1835), a sense now dated.^[2][3] Grown archaic, it came back into use for stands made to hold large reference books.^[3][6] In the French of Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec it is the ordinary word for a music stand.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – Letrin in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• 14th century – The form lutrin appears once.^[2][3]
• 1546 – Rabelais writes chantant au letrain.^[2]
• 1606 – Nicot has lutrin, according to the GLLF and the Grand Robert.^[7][10]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records lutrin.^[2]
• 1835 – The Académie records the sense “the singers at the lectern”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lectern in a church, a raised desk on a stand that holds the liturgical books for singing: Le chantre se tenait au lutrin.^[2][6]
2. (dated) Those who sing at the lectern.^[2][4]
3. A reading stand, on a foot or resting on a table, for large books.^[6]
4. (Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec) A music stand.^[3]

Related words

• lire¹
• lecture
• Latin legō
• English lectern

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 235b
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert