omble

Forms

omble m (plural ombles)^[1] Earlier humble (1553) and umble (1555), a spelling Littré still used.^[2][3] Franco-Provençal amble (1447), plural ambloz (1415).^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Franco-Provençal amble, the name of the fish around Neuchâtel, in an altered form.^[4][3][5][6] The TLFi calls it a Franco-Provençal word.^[2] That word goes back to Late Latin amulus, the name of a fish recorded in the 5th century in Polemius Silvius.^[2][7][8] Medieval Latin had ambulus in the 13th century.^[2] The origin of the Latin word is disputed.^[2]

The TLFi explains the first form, humble, by the influence of Latin humilis (“low, living near the ground”), and the modern form by that of ombre, the name of a similar salmonid;^[2] Rey too puts the change from umble to the modern form down to that word.^[4] Wiktionary instead derives the word from Latin umbra, influenced by the older form.^[1] Meyer-Lübke lists ambya at Fribourg.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pierre Belon wrote humble in 1553, and Guillaume Rondelet umble and umble chevalier in 1555, for the char.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The fish varies greatly in size with its age and its water, which explains the compound omble chevalier: at first it named the large fish (Cotgrave, 1611), then it became a synonym of the simple word.^[2] The modern spelling omble appears in Valmont de Bomare in 1764,^[2] though the Robert dictionaries date it to Larousse in 1874.^[3][6][5]

The name was extended to the brook trout, omble de fontaine, a North American fish introduced into Europe, which in Quebec is called truite mouchetée.^[4][6]

Timeline

• 1415 – The Franco-Provençal plural ambloz is recorded.^[2]
• 1471 – The feminine plural omblaz is found at Ripaille.^[2]
• 1553 – Belon writes humble.^[2][3]
• 1555 – Rondelet has umble and umble chevalier.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave distinguishes the large fish as umble chevalier.^[2]
• 1764 – The spelling omble appears in Valmont de Bomare.^[2]
• 1874 – Larousse records omble.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A char, a freshwater salmonid with fine scales, living deep in mountain lakes, with highly prized flesh; also omble chevalier.^[6][8][2][5]
2. Omble de fontaine: the brook trout, a fish from North America.^[6][4]

Word family

• omble-chevalier

Related words

• ombre

Usage notes

The omble is sometimes wrongly called ombre, the name of another salmonid.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c 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 q r 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 495a
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 432