oncle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɔ̃kl/^[1]

Forms

oncle m (plural oncles)^[1] Old French uncle (1080), oncle from the early 12th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oncle, inherited from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”), through Vulgar Latin *aunclum.^{[4][5][6][1][7]} The central /u/ fell and the /w/ of the first syllable weakened, Littré notes that Latin comic poets already scanned the word in three syllables, “aunculus”.^[5][8] “Avunculus” is a familiar diminutive of avus (“grandfather”), the source of aïeul.^[5][8] In Latin it named only the mother's brother; the father's brother was patruus, which has disappeared from all the Romance languages.^[5][6]

The words for uncle in Italian zio and Spanish tío come instead from Late Latin thius, from Greek.^[6] The French word was borrowed as German Onkel and Dutch nonkel.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it already means the brother of one's father or mother: Machiner e sun uncle Maheu.^[4][8][5]

Semantic evolution

From the 17th century it also meant, familiarly, someone whose kinship is vague or imaginary (1611), and the husband of an aunt (1719).^[5][2] Faire l'oncle “to scold” is found in the late 17th century, and oncle à la mode de Bretagne, a parent's first cousin, in 1690.^[2] The rich relative who brings an unexpected fortune is the oncle d'Amérique (1826, Scribe) and the oncle à héritage (20th century, oncle à succession, 1841, Balzac); Oncle Sam personifies the United States (1873).^[2][5] In 19th-century slang mon oncle was a moneylender (Balzac, 1839), as ma tante was the pawnshop.^[9] In African French oncle takes on the value of the local kinship terms, close to that of Latin avunculus.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Uncle, Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• 1531 – Grand-oncle.^[5]
• 1611 – Of a loosely related person, Cotgrave.^[5][2]
• 1690 – Oncle à la mode de Bretagne, Furetière.^[2]
• 1826 – Oncle d'Amérique, Scribe.^[2]
• 1839 – Slang “moneylender”, Balzac.^[9]
• 1873 – Oncle Sam.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An uncle, the brother of one's father or mother: oncle paternel, oncle maternel.^[10][1]
2. The husband of one's aunt.^[10][11]
3. Oncle d'Amérique: a rich relative who leaves an unexpected inheritance.^[10][11]
4. Oncle à la mode de Bretagne: a first cousin of one's father or mother.^[10][2]
5. Oncle Sam: Uncle Sam, the United States.^[10][2]

Word family

• grand-oncle
• arrière-grand-oncle

Related words

• tante
• tonton
• aïeul
• avunculaire
• Latin avunculus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c 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 f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 1252a
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)