moue

Forms

moue f (plural moues)^[1] Old French moe; the spelling moue is found about 1265 in Jean de Meun.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French moe, borrowed from Frankish *mauwa (“pout, protruding lip”), a Frankish form reconstructed from Middle Dutch mouwe.^[3][4][5][1] Bloch and Wartburg compare Dutch mouwe maken (“to pout”) and a Middle High German verb, and think the word may be onomatopoeic, as do the Grand Robert and the GLLF;^[6][7][2] the word occurs as an interjection in a 16th-century satirical farce.^[6][5] Littré lists dialect forms such as Walloon mowe and Picard mouse, and notes that English mow comes from the French word.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès (1176), in faire la moe, a grimace made by pushing out the lips in mockery or displeasure.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Old French moe also, and often, meant simply a lip or the mouth, and jouer des moes was “to pull faces, to show one's teeth”.^[5][6][7] The idea of an ugly grimace faded in the 17th century, and faire la moue (1608) became the usual phrase; the feelings the pout expresses range from doubt to disapproval.^[5] From the 18th to the 19th century the word often named a small, graceful pout.^[5] By metonymy it also came to mean reluctance or displeasure, and faire la moue à to look coldly on something.^[3][9]

English borrowed the word as moue “a pout” in 1850.^[10]

Timeline

• 1176 – Faire la moe appears in Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès.^[3]
• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun has the spelling moue.^[2]
• 16th century – A sottie has the interjection moue!.^[6][5]
• 1608 – Faire la moue becomes the usual phrase.^[5]
• 1850 – English borrows it as moue.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pout, a grimace made by pushing the lips forward and together, showing disdain, doubt or sulkiness: faire la moue.^[9][3][1]
2. (figurative) Reluctance or displeasure: faire la moue à a proposal, to show reluctance to accept it.^[3][9]

Related words

• lippe
• English moue
• English mow

Usage notes

The Petit Robert gives the regional word baboune as a synonym.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 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. 16, 544b
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com