midi

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mi.di/^[1]

Forms

midi m (plural midis)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of Old French mi (“middle”) (see mi-), from Latin medius (“middle”),^[2] and Old French di (“day”) (842, in the Strasbourg Oaths), from diēs (“day”) through its accusative.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} That word survives in the names of the days of the week.^[3] Most southern dialects, south of a line from the Gironde estuary to French Switzerland, say ⟨mijour⟩.^[2]

Compare Old Occitan miegdia, Spanish mediodía, Portuguese meio-dia and Italian mezzodì.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses it for the middle of the day: Contre midi tenebres i a granz (“towards noon there is great darkness”).^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

Very early it took a spatial sense: the south, as one of the cardinal points (Gaimar, about 1140), and a southern exposure (1308).^[6][3] Classical French used it for the southern countries (La Fontaine, 1687); since 1793 (Madame de Staël) le Midi has been the South of France, as in l'accent du Midi.^[6][3]

Chercher midi à quatorze heures “to make things needlessly complicated” (Tabarin, 1622, Madame de Sévigné, 1675) was preceded by cercher midy à unze heures (1585).^[6][3][9] Démon du midi (1585) rendered Latin daemonium meridianum, the temptation of midday; it took its modern sense, the amorous temptation of middle age, in 1863.^[6][3] The slang Midi ! “too late!” and il est midi “watch out!” date from 1866–1867.^[6][3] après-midi is recorded in 1514 or 1549.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 842 – Di “day” in the Strasbourg Oaths.^[3]
• c. 1100 – Midi in the Chanson de Roland.^[6]
• c. 1140 – “South”, in Gaimar.^[6]
• 1308 – A southern exposure.^[6]
• 1514 – Après-midi.^[2]
• 1585 – Démon du midi, cercher midy à unze heures.^[6]
• 1622 – Chercher midi à quatorze heures.^[6]
• 1793 – Le Midi “the South of France”.^[6]
• 1863 – Démon de midi in its modern sense.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Noon, twelve o'clock: Il est midi, midi sonné.^[10][1]
2. The middle of the day, midday: le repas de midi, en plein midi.^[10][5]
3. The south: exposé au midi, facing south.^[1][6]
4. Le Midi: the South of France.^[1][3]
5. Le démon de midi: the urge for amorous adventure in middle age.^[10][3]
6. Chercher midi à quatorze heures: to complicate matters needlessly.^[3][1]

Word family

• après-midi

Related words

• mi-
• demi
• méridien
• Latin dies

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 72a
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert