narine

Forms

narine f (plural narines)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nārīna,^[2][3][4][1] a derivative of Latin nāris (“nostril”), usually in the plural nārēs “nostrils, nose”.^[2][5] The Latin word is related to nāsus (“nose”), the source of nez, with another vowel in the root Proto-Indo-European *nas- (“nose”).^[5]

The word is found only in French.^[4] The plain Latin word survives in Italian nare and Spanish nares, but it was widely replaced by new, more expressive derivatives, such as Italian narice, Spanish nariz “nose” and Old French narille.^[4] Littré held that the form with /l/, from *nāricula, was the regular one and that the form with /n/ arose by substitution of consonants,^[6] while Rey sees the form with /l/ as a rival word, whose altered form nazille gave nasiller.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Benedeit's Voyage de saint Brendan (early 12th century), of a sea monster: Des narines li fous lur salt “fire leaps at them from its nostrils”.^[2][5] It is used of a person at the end of the 12th century, in Floire et Blancheflor.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Littré notes that poetry used narine for the wings of the nose, a usage the Romantics mocked.^[6][7] In popular French s'en jeter un dans les narines meant to have a drink (1931), and in the 1970s en prendre dans les narines meant to be hit or affected.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1112 – Benedeit uses it of a sea monster's nostrils.^[2][7]
• Late 12th century – It is used of a person in Floire et Blancheflor.^[2]
• 1931 – S'en jeter un dans les narines “to have a drink” is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Each of the two outer openings of the nose, a nostril: il respirait à pleines narines.^[8][9][7]
2. (zoology) The breathing or smelling organ of vertebrates, opening above the mouth, called naseau in the horse.^[9][8]

Related words

• nez
• nasiller
• Latin nāris

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 14b
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b 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 Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)