nue

Forms

nue f (plural nues)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French nue, inherited from Vulgar Latin *nūba, an altered form of Latin nūbēs (“cloud, swarm, multitude, veil”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The classical word survives in Old Occitan niu (“cloud”) and, after its accusative, in Portuguese nuvem.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg note that the derivative nūbilum left more traces, as in Italian nuvolo, Spanish nublo and nivol.^[4]

Cognate with Italian nube, Spanish nube and Catalan nuu.^[7][1] Rey relates the Latin word to nebula (“mist”) and nimbus and, through an Indo-European root, to Ancient Greek νεφέλη (nephélē, “cloud”), νέφος (néphos, “cloud”) and Old High German nebul (“fog”).^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1112 in the Voyage de saint Brendan, meaning “cloud”.^[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Old French also used it of the sky: Dieu qui est desour la nue (“God who is above the clouds”, 1176–84, Gautier d'Arras), and sous la nue meant “under heaven, in this world” (about 1220).^[2]

Figurative phrases followed: mettre jusques aux nues “to praise to the skies” (1538), later porter aux nues (1739), and tomber des nues, first “to arrive unexpectedly” (1647, Corneille) and soon after “to be utterly astonished” (1666–67, La Fontaine).^[2][3] In the 19th century nue gave way in ordinary use to its derivatives nuage (1564) and nuée, and it survives as a literary or poetic word and in these phrases, where it suggests height.^[3][4][2]

Timeline

• c. 1112 – First recorded in the Voyage de saint Brendan.^[2][8]
• 1176–84 – Gautier d'Arras writes of God above the nue.^[2]
• c. 1220 – Sous la nue “in this world” appears in Amadas et Ydoine.^[2]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records mettre jusques aux nues.^[2][3]
• 1564 – The derivative nuage is first recorded.^[4]
• 1647 – Corneille uses tomber des nues “to arrive unexpectedly”.^[2][3]
• 1666–67 – La Fontaine uses tomber des nues “to be astonished”.^[2][3]
• 1739 – Porter aux nues appears in Marivaux.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary or poetic) A cloud, or the clouds.^[2][7][1]
2. (by extension) The sky.^[7]
3. Porter aux nues, mettre aux nues: to praise to the skies, extol.^[7][2]
4. Tomber des nues: to be utterly astonished.^[7][2]

Word family

• nuage
• nuée
• nuance
• nuaison

Related words

• Latin nūbēs

Usage notes

It is a homophone of nue, the feminine of the adjective nu “naked”, which comes from Latin nūdus.^[7][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 218b
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse