miel

Forms

miel m (plural miels)^[1] Old French mel (about 980), then miel (about 1175, Chrétien de Troyes); the subject case was li moiax.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mel (“honey, figuratively sweetness, and a term of endearment”).^[3][4][5][6] The Latin neuter became masculine or feminine in Vulgar Latin;^[1][7] Wiktionary gives Vulgar Latin *melem, and Meyer-Lübke notes the feminine in Romanian, Catalan and Spanish.^[1][7]

Cognate with Romanian miere, Italian miele, Occitan mel, Catalan mel, Spanish miel and Portuguese mel.^[8][7] Rey notes that the Latin word belongs to a small group within Indo-European with Ancient Greek μέλι (méli, “honey”), beside a more widespread family for honey and mead, such as μέθυ (méthu).^[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

As mel it is found in the Passion of the late 10th century, meaning honey.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin, the word soon took the figurative sense “something sweet and pleasant”: Chrétien de Troyes (1176–1181) uses it of God.^[3][5] It is often said of words and manners, as in être tout sucre et tout miel (Molière, 1661), which today is pejorative.^[5][3] The proverb on prend plus de mouches avec du miel qu'avec du vinaigre is recorded by the Académie in 1718.^[2]

From the literal sense came mouche à miel, an old name of the bee (about 1350) still used in some regional French, in Acadia and Louisiana, and pharmaceutical names such as miel rosat (1314).^[5][2] Faire son miel de “to make the most of” seems recent (perhaps the 1980s).^[5] In slang, miel! has served since 1866 as a euphemism for merde!.^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 980 – Mel appears in the Passion.^[2][5]
• c. 1175 – The form miel is found in Chrétien de Troyes.^[2]
• 1176–1181 – Chrétien uses it figuratively of God.^[3]
• 1314 – Mondeville names a preparation miel rosat.^[2][5]
• c. 1350 – Mouche à miel “bee” is recorded.^[2][5]
• 1661 – Molière writes c'est tout sucre et tout miel.^[3]
• 1718 – The Académie records on prend plus de mouches avec du miel qu'avec du vinaigre.^[2]
• 1866 – Delvau records miel! as a euphemism for merde!.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. honey, the sweet, syrupy substance made by bees from the nectar of flowers.^[8][3]
2. (figurative) Sweetness, something pleasant: être tout sucre et tout miel is to be all honeyed sweetness, often insincerely.^[3][5]
3. Lune de miel: honeymoon.^[5][8]
4. (slang, interjection) A euphemism for merde!.^[3][5]

Word family

• emmieller
• miellé
• mielleux
• miellat

Related words

• hydromel
• Latin mel

Usage notes

Mouche à miel, an old name for the bee, is still used in some regional French, in Acadia and Louisiana.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 646a
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert