mur

Pronunciation

• IPA: /myʁ/^[1]

Forms

mur m (plural murs)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mūrus (“wall, especially of a city”), in Old Latin “moerus”.^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} The Latin word was distinct from moenia (“ramparts”) and, from pariēs (“wall of a house”) (see paroi).^[3] It is usually connected with “pōmērium”, the sacred strip along the walls of Rome, though the form raises difficulties; it replaced the Indo-European word seen in Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos, “wall”).^[3] Wiktionary traces it to a root “*mey-” “to strengthen”.^[1]

Cognate with Italian muro, Occitan mur, Spanish muro and Portuguese muro.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 10th century in the Passion of Clermont, in the plural, for the walls of Jerusalem: en tos belz murs, en tas maisons pedra ssubr altre non laiseront (“in your fine walls, in your houses, they will not leave stone upon stone”).^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the fortified wall around a town, and by metonymy the town itself, as in defors li mur “outside the walls” (about 1200), later rivalled by Latin extra muros and intra muros.^[2][3] From the Chanson de Roland it was also used of the walls of a house (about 1100) and a castle (early 12th century), and figuratively of protection (Chrétien de Troyes, 1176–1181).^[2][3] Modern uses include le mur du son “the sound barrier”, faire le mur “to slip out without leave” and mettre au pied du mur “to leave no way out”.^[7] Derivatives include muraille (about 1200), murer (12th century) and emmurer.^[4]

Timeline

• Late 10th century – The walls of Jerusalem, in the Passion of Clermont.^[2]
• c. 1100 – The walls of a dwelling, in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• 12th century – Murer, in Chrétien de Troyes.^[4]
• c. 1200 – Defors li mur “outside the town”, muraille.^[2][4]
• 1461 – Avant-mur.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A wall: un mur de pierre, les murs de la ville.^[1][7]
2. (figurative) A barrier, obstacle: un mur de glace, le mur du son.^[7]
3. Faire le mur: to go out without permission, mettre au pied du mur: to corner.^[7]
4. Dans nos murs: in our town.^[3]

Word family

• muraille
• murer
• démurer
• emmurer
• avant-mur
• muret

Related words

• paroi
• Latin mūrus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 241a
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert