miauler

Forms

miauler^[1]

Etymology

It is from French miau-, the imitative stem that renders the cat's cry, also seen in miaou.^[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg compare the verbs of the same sense in other languages, likewise imitative: Italian miagolare, Spanish miullar and German miauen.^[5] Littré cites the dialect forms ⟨miâler⟩ (Berry) and mialer (Geneva).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1288 in Jacquemart Gielée's Renart le Nouvel, where a cat begins to miaow so loudly that it is heard in the garden;^[2][3] the noun miauleis “miaowing” is found earlier, in Gautier de Coinci about 1223.^[2][3] Dictionaries record the verb from Robert Estienne in 1549.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Like most verbs for animal cries, it was applied to human cries resembling a cat's (1684, La Fontaine),^[2][3] hence “to sing in an unpleasant voice” (1834, Boiste),^[2] and later “to complain, whine” (late 19th century).^[3] The cat's cry itself was called miault (1552), then myaou (1576) and miaou (1619).^[3]

Its derivatives include miaulement (1564), miauleur (16th century) and the regional miaulard (1840), a sea bird with a shrill cry; in old army slang miaulant was a German shell (1918).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1223 – Gautier de Coinci uses the noun mialleis “miaowing”.^[2]
• 1288 – Miauler appears in Renart le Nouvel.^[2]
• 1549 – Robert Estienne records it in his dictionary.^[2][7]
• 1564 – Miaulement is recorded.^[3][5]
• 1684 – La Fontaine uses it of human cries like a cat's.^[2][7]
• 1834 – Boiste records the sense “to sing in an unpleasant voice”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of a cat or some other feline: to miaow, to mew.^[8][2]
2. (figurative, familiar) To complain, to whine, especially of children.^[8][3]
3. (humorous) To sing in a shrill, unpleasant voice.^[7][2]

Word family

• miaulement
• miauleur
• miaulard

Related words

• miaou

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 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. 6/2, 66b
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert