melon

Forms

melon m (plural melons)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin mēlō (“melon”), through its accusative, a shortening of mēlopepō, from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn, “a kind of melon”).^[2][3][1][4] The Greek word is a compound of μῆλον (mêlon, “apple, fruit”) and πέπων (pépōn, “ripened by the sun”).^[2][5] Rey describes the first element as a Mediterranean word that replaced the Indo-European name of the apple.^[3] The TLFi and Bloch and Wartburg note that it cannot be told whether the word was always in use or was taken again from Latin.^[2][6]

Cognate with Occitan melo, Catalan meló, Spanish melón, Portuguese melão and Italian mellone.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1256 in Aldebrandin de Sienne's Régime du corps, in a medical decoction that includes melons, as the name of the plant and its fruit.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The phrase melon d'eau “watermelon” is recorded in 1660.^[3][5] Like other names of round fruit (citron, fraise, pomme), it came to mean the head in familiar use (1833, probably earlier) and a fool (1827);^[3][2] from the latter it named, with the idea of a beginner, a first-year cadet at Saint-Cyr (about 1838).^[3][2] With the head as a sign of conceit, avoir le melon “to be big-headed” has become very common.^[3]

By likeness of shape the word named a man's round, domed hat, first in Daudet in 1877;^[2][3] chapeau-melon is recorded in 1880.^[2][3] A racist slur for an Arab or North African is recorded from 1962; its origin is obscure, perhaps a metaphor on the head coverings worn by Arabs.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1256 – Aldebrandin de Sienne names melons in a medical recipe.^[2]
• 1534 – The derivative melonnière is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1660 – Oudin records melon d'eau.^[5]
• 1827 – It is used for a fool.^[2][3]
• 1833 – It is used for the head.^[2][3]
• c. 1838 – Saint-Cyr slang uses it for a first-year cadet.^[3][2]
• 1877 – Daudet uses it for a round hat.^[2][5]
• 1880 – Chapeau-melon is recorded.^[2]
• 1962 – It is first recorded as a racist slur.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The melon, a trailing plant of the gourd family grown for its fruit.^[8][2]
2. The fruit of this plant, with sweet, juicy orange or pale green flesh;^[8][5] melon d'eau, the watermelon.^[8][5]
3. Chapeau melon, or simply melon: a man's round, domed felt hat, a bowler.^[8][2]
4. (popular) The head: avoir le melon, to be conceited.^[8][3]
5. (school slang) A first-year cadet at Saint-Cyr.^[8][2]
6. (offensive, racist) A North African.^[8][2]

Word family

• melonnière
• melonné

Related words

• camomille
• marmelade
• Latin mēlō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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 l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 683b
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert