natte

Forms

natte f (plural nattes)^[1] Old French nate; the spelling natte dates from the 16th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French nate, inherited from Vulgar Latin *natta, an altered form of Late Latin matta (“mat of rushes”), in which the initial /m/ was partly assimilated to the /t/.^{[3][4][2][1][5]} The supposed attestation of the form with /n/ in Gregory of Tours, which Bloch and Wartburg still give, is a mistake, but Medieval Latin natta (“mat”) is found early in the 9th century, and Spanish nata, Catalan nata and Portuguese nata “cream” (a flat surface on milk) also point to it.^[3][4][6] Littré compares the same change of /m/ to /n/ in nappe and nèfle.^[7]

The Latin word, recorded in Christian Latin from the early 5th century, in Augustine, is a Semitic word, probably Punic, which the Romans would have taken from the Carthaginians; it corresponds to Biblical Hebrew מִטָּה (miṭṭāh, “bed”).^[3][4][1] The English word mat comes from the same Latin word.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as nate in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050), for a piece of woven plant material on which the saint lies under the stairs.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the word meant only a mat of woven plant fibres.^[4] From the 16th century it was extended to a plait of threads or silk (1525), and in the 17th century to a plait of hair (1690), with the modern spelling.^[3][4]

In the 18th century it took on technical senses in fishing (1769), botany (1773, bois de natte) and zoology (1786), now lost.^[3][4] Later senses that survive are an architectural ornament (1856) and a small loaf of three plaited strands of dough (1874, after a pastry in 1872), a sense alive above all in Lorraine and Alsace.^[3][4]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Nate appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[3]
• 1344 – The derivative natter is recorded.^[6]
• 1525 – It is used for a plait of threads or silk.^[3][4]
• 1680 – The derivative dénatter is recorded.^[6]
• 1690 – Furetière records it for a plait of hair.^[3]
• 1769 – Duhamel du Monceau uses it in fishing.^[3]
• 1856 – It names an ornament in architecture.^[3][4]
• 1874 – The Grand dictionnaire of Larousse records the plaited loaf.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A mat of woven straw, rushes or other plant fibres, used as a rug or a bed.^[9][1] Il dormait sur une natte de jonc.^[9][1]
2. A flat plait of threads or strands.^[9][7]
3. A braid or plait of hair.^[9][1] Sa fille porte deux nattes.^[9][1]
4. A small loaf made of three plaited strands of dough, especially in Lorraine and Alsace.^[3][4]
5. (architecture) An ornament imitating plaited work.^[3][4]

Word family

• natter
• dénatter

Related words

• Latin matta
• English mat

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 m n o p 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 505a
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert