ombreux

Forms

ombreux (feminine ombreuse, masculine plural ombreux, feminine plural ombreuses)^[1] Old French ombros (about 1175); umbreux in the 16th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ombros, inherited from Latin umbrōsus (“shady, dark, giving shade”), from umbra (“shade”).^[3][5][2][6] By surface analysis it is ombre with the suffix -eux.^[1]

Cognate with Italian ombroso, Old Occitan ombros, Catalan ombros and Romanian umbros;^[7][8] the Spanish word sombroso is remade on sombra.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert and the GLLF date it to about 1175, as ombros in Chrétien de Troyes; the TLFi's first record is a 13th-century manuscript of the Continuation de Perceval, in the sense “where there is shade”.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare before the 16th century, when Marot and Ronsard used it.^[3][4] The figurative sense “dark, gloomy” is recorded in 1542 (umbreux augure).^[5][6] It serves as a literary synonym of ombragé and is sometimes used for “indistinct, secret” or “easily startled”.^[6] Gide used the adverb ombreusement (1924).^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – Ombros in Chrétien de Troyes.^[2][3]
• 13th century – Ombreux “shady” in a manuscript of the Continuation de Perceval.^[5]
• 1542 – The figurative sense “dark, gloomy”.^[5][6]
• 1924 – Gide uses ombreusement.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) That gives shade: of trees or foliage.^[9][2]
2. (literary) Shady, full of shade: of a wood, a path or a room.^[9][5]
3. (botany) Growing in shady places.^[4]

Related words

• ombre
• ombragé
• Latin umbrōsus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f 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
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert