niquer

Forms

niquer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Algerian Arabic نيك (nīk), the imperfect stem of ناك (nāk), from Arabic ناك (nāka).^[1] The TLFi, the DHLF and the Grand Robert take it from the third person singular of the present, “he makes love”, of the Maghrebi Arabic verb, passed into the pidgin (sabir) of North Africa and of the French army there.^[2][3][4][5] In Classical Arabic, Rey notes, the verb is used in the Qur'an of lawful relations between husband and wife.^[3] Wiktionary calls a derivation from Dutch neuken unlikely.^[1] Rey suggests that the likeness of forniquer may have helped the sexual sense in French.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1890 in army slang at Algiers, according to Esnault, meaning to have sex with someone.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “to catch” came very soon, as with its synonyms baiser, avoir and posséder: Rey dates it 1898,^[3] the TLFi and the GLLF 1918, from soldiers' slang of the First World War.^[2][5] First felt as a word of French North Africa, of the pieds-noirs, it spread in France in figurative uses, especially in the participle niqué “done for”.^[3] In very familiar French it lost its sexual sense in “to trick, make a fool of” (1928) and, much later, “to damage”, and niqué became a common adjective for “damaged, worn out”.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1890 – Esnault records niquer in the army slang of Algiers.^[2][3]
• 1898 – It is used in the figurative sense “to catch”.^[3]
• 1918 – Soldiers' slang has the sense “to catch, punish”.^[2][5]
• 1928 – It is used for “to trick, make a fool of”.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (vulgar slang) To have sex with (someone).^[7][6][8]
2. (slang) To catch, to nab: se faire niquer, to get caught.^[2][5]
3. (slang) To trick, to get the better of (someone): On s'est fait niquer.^[6][2][1]
4. (slang) To damage, to wreck: Il a niqué son téléphone.^[6][9][1]
5. (slang) To steal; to beat up.^[1][9]

Word family

• niqué
• niqueur

Usage notes

Nique ta mère ! and nique ta race ! are insults.^[7][6] The TLFi records niquer le burnous “to take by surprise”.^[2] A different, obsolete verb niquer, formed from faire la nique, was used in dice games (1792, in the Encyclopédie méthodique) for throwing on the first cast the point one had called;^{[5][3][10][1]} Rey notes that the slang verb has made it unusable.^{[5][3][10][1]}

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Bob, dictionnaire d'argot, de français familier et populaire, languefrancaise.net/Bob
10. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette