oculus

Forms

oculus m (invariable)^[1] The plural is oculus or the Latin plural oculi.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin oculus (“eye”), the Latin word itself taken into French.^[4][2][5] The same Latin word is the source of the inherited œil, of which it is a learned doublet.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi first finds it in 1852 in Lenoir's Architecture monastique, for a small round opening in a wall.^[4] The GLLF records the Latin word in French earlier, from 1667 (Morin), as the name of various flowers, and the architectural sense from 1919 (Enlart).^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to the vocabulary of architecture, where it names a small round window or opening in a wall or at the top of a dome, the same thing as an œil-de-bœuf.^[4][3][2] Writers on Romanesque and Gothic churches used it for their round windows, and Barrès in 1914 recalled the little round window at the east end of Romanesque churches where the Sacrament was once displayed.^[2][4] In technical use it also names a round opening cut in a door or a partition.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1667 – Morin uses oculus as the name of various flowers.^[6]
• 1852 – Lenoir's Architecture monastique uses it for a round opening.^[4]
• 1914 – Barrès writes of the oculus of Romanesque churches.^[4]
• 1919 – Enlart's manual of archaeology has the architectural sense.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (architecture) A small round window or opening in a wall or at the top of a dome; an œil-de-bœuf.^[4][3][5][7]
2. (technical) A round opening cut in a door or a partition.^[3][2]

Related words

• œil
• œil-de-bœuf
• oculaire
• oculiste
• English oculus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale