manoir

Forms

manoir m (plural manoirs)^[1] Old French maneir (1155), then manoir (about 1175).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Old French maneir, manoir (“to dwell, live”), the infinitive of an Old French verb used as a noun.^[4][2][5][6] The verb, found from about 880 in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia, came from Latin maneō (“to stay, remain”), which in Late Latin also meant “to dwell”.^[4][2] Rey calls the origin of the Latin verb uncertain and notes that the same root seems to exist in Persian and Armenian words meaning “to stay”;^[2] Littré compares Ancient Greek μένω (ménō).^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan maner.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Wace's Brut (1155) maneir means a dwelling or abode.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “dwelling, house”, usual in Old French, fell out of common use and was kept from the 17th century only in poetry or in jest: Richelet in 1688 calls it a burlesque word for a house, and le sombre manoir (Rotrou, 1632) is the realm of the dead.^[4][8][7] Among its special senses, a property or estate (Wace, 1160–1174) and a moderately fortified house of a lord (about 1175) survived; the manoir differed from the château, whose owner had the right to build towers and a keep, and the word covered the dwelling with its farm buildings.^[4][2] When castles and manors lost their defensive role from the 16th century, manoir came close to gentilhommière, and since 1811 it has meant a sizeable country house or small château.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1155 – Maneir “dwelling” in Wace's Brut.^[4]
• 1160–1174 – Sense “estate” in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[4]
• c. 1175 – The form manoir and the sense “lord's residence” in Chrétien de Troyes.^[8][2]
• 1632 – Le sombre manoir in Rotrou.^[8][4]
• 1688 – Richelet calls it a burlesque word.^[4]
• 1811 – Jouy uses it for a country house or small château.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) In the Middle Ages, the unfortified residence of the holder of a fief.^[4][7]
2. A manor house: a fine old country residence, a small château.^[9][4]
3. (dated, poetic) A dwelling, abode: le sombre manoir, the underworld.^[8][7]

Related words

• manant
• Latin maneō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ 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 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. 6/1, 183a
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert