nucléus

Forms

nucléus m (plural nucléi or nucléus)^[1] Also written nucleus, without the accent.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nucleus (“kernel, stone of a fruit”), a diminutive of nux (“nut”).^[4][3][5] For the cell nucleus the TLFi allows the influence of English nucleus, used in that sense from 1842.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It was first a botanical term for the nucelle, recorded by Bescherelle in 1845–1846;^[4][3][5] Rey dates this use to 1834.^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

From the 1850s it named the nucleus of a cell (1855, Littré–Robin).^[4] In prehistory it was used from the 1860s for a core of flint or other hard stone from which flakes were struck (1864 according to Rey and the Petit Robert, 1867 according to the TLFi).^[5][6][4] The anatomical nucleus pulposus is recorded in 1963, and in 1959 Tesnière used nucléus in syntax for the core of a sentence.^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1834 – Rey's date for the botanical sense “nucellus”.^[5]
• 1845–1846 – Bescherelle records the botanical sense.^[4][3]
• 1855 – Littré and Robin use it for the cell nucleus.^[4]
• 1867 – Alfred Maury uses it in prehistory, in the Revue des Deux Mondes.^[4][3]
• 1959 – Tesnière uses it in linguistics.^[4][3]
• 1963 – Nucleus pulposus appears in a Larousse encyclopedia.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (biology) The noyau of a cell.^[4][3]
2. (anatomy) Nucleus pulposus: the jelly-like centre of an intervertebral disc.^[4][3]
3. (prehistory) A core of flint or other hard stone from which flakes and blades were struck.^[4][6]
4. (linguistics) In Tesnière's syntax, the core unit of a sentence.^[4][3]

Related words

• noyau
• nucléaire
• pronucléus
• nucléon
• noix
• Latin nucleus

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert