Etymologically
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or

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or1 gold

Pronunciation

Forms

or m (plural ors)[1]

Etymology

Gold is inherited from Latin aurum (“gold; gold object; gold coin; wealth”).[2][3][4][5][6] The /r/ of the Latin word comes from an older /s/, as shown by Sabine “ausom”, Old Prussian ausis and Lithuanian auksas, Wiktionary traces it through Proto-Italic *auzom to Proto-Indo-European *h₂é-h₂us-o- (“glow”).[3][1] Another Indo-European name of gold, from a root meaning “yellow”, gave Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌻𐌸 (gulþ) and English gold.[3]

Cognate with Romanian aur, Occitan aur, Italian oro, Catalan or, Spanish oro and Portuguese ouro.[7][8] In popular use it is often feminine because of its initial vowel.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Sequence of Saint Eulalia (about 881) has it as a symbol of wealth: Ne por or ned argent ne paramenz (“neither for gold nor for silver nor for finery”).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Chanson de Roland already has pur tut l'or Deu “for all the gold in the world”, as well as golden bridles and crowns and Arabian gold.[2][3] About 1200 Guiot de Provins has the proverb N'est pas tout ors qu'en voit relure (“all that glitters is not gold”).[2] It names the colour in heraldry about 1273 and the colour of hair in Ronsard (1578).[2]

Phrases followed: valoir son pesant d'or (13th century), c'est de l'or en barre “a sure value” (1650), faire un pont d'or à quelqu'un (1660) and rouler sur l'or (1798).[3] Dire d'or “to speak well” is found in 1565, or blanc in 1562 and or potable, the alchemists' drinkable gold, in the 1560s.[9][2]

Timeline

  • c. 881 – In the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Pur tut l'or Deu in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1200 – N'est pas tout ors qu'en voit relure.[2]
  • c. 1273 – The heraldic tincture.[2]
  • 1562 – Or blanc.[2]
  • 1650 – De l'or en barre.[3]
  • 1798 – Rouler sur l'or.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. gold, the precious metal: une mine d'or, la ruée vers l'or.[10][11]
  2. A gold alloy: or blanc, or jaune.[10]
  3. Gold coin, money; wealth: payer en or, pour tout l'or du monde.[10][3]
  4. (heraldry) The tincture or.[1][2]
  5. En or: excellent, precious: une affaire en or.[1]
  6. Or noir: oil.[1]

Adjective

  1. (invariable) Gold-coloured.[11]

or2 now, yet

Pronunciation

Forms

or[1] Old French ore, or (1080) and the archaizing ores (1176), with the adverbial ⟨s⟩.[3][4]

Etymology

The conjunction is inherited from Old French ore, inherited from Late Latin hā hōrā, an alteration of Latin hāc hōrā (“at this hour”), probably under the influence of “illā hōrā” “at that hour”.[3][4][1][12] The final “-e” dropped because the word was unstressed.[3][4] The classical form survives in Old Spanish “agora”.[4]

Compare Italian ora, Spanish ahora and Portuguese agora.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

As ore it is found in the Jonah fragment of Valenciennes (938–950), meaning “now”: Si astreient li Judei perdut, si cum il ore sunt (“so the Jews would be lost, as they now are”).[13][3]

Semantic evolution

The adverb “now, at present” was common until the 17th century, when Malherbe criticized it, or… or “now… now” (1155) went the same way.[3] Old French used it in exclamations (or ne vous esmaiez, “now do not be dismayed”, in the Chanson de Roland) and in phrases such as or çà and or sus, and or que meant “now that” (1150).[3][13] D'ores et déjà “already, from now on” (1615) is probably of legal origin and is much used today.[3]

The modern conjunction grew out of its use in linking sentences: “so, then” (1176–1181), and, from 1580 the introduction of a new element in a story or an argument, as in the minor premise of a syllogism, or donc is recorded in 1611.[3][13]

Timeline

  • 938–950 – Ore “now” in the Jonah fragment.[3][13]
  • 1080 – The form or.[3]
  • 1155 – Or… or “now… now”.[3]
  • 1176 – Ores.[3]
  • 1580 – Introducing a new step in an argument.[3]
  • 1615 – D'ores et déjà.[3]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. Now, but (introducing a new element in a story): or, un soir, son mari rentra.[7][10]
  2. Yet, however (introducing the minor premise of a syllogism, or an objection): or vous n'avez rien prouvé.[7][10]
  3. Or donc: so then, to come to the point.[10][13]

Adverb

  1. (archaic) Now, at present.[7][1]
  2. D'ores et déjà: already, from now on.[7][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ 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. 25, 1019b
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ 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 f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 471b
  13. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette