ouaille

Forms

ouaille f (plural ouailles)^[1] Old French oeille (first half of the 12th century), oaille (1160–1174), Anglo-Norman owayles (plural); ouaille from the 14th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oaille, an alteration, with a change of suffix, of the older oeille “ewe”.^[2][3][4][1] That word is from Late Latin ovicula (“little sheep, sheep”), a diminutive of ovis (“sheep”), which Wiktionary traces to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.^[2][3][1]

The diminutive also gave Spanish oveja and Old Occitan ovelha, while the simple noun survives only in Romanian oaie.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as oaille “ewe” in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174); the older oeille is found in the Oxford Psalter in the first half of the 12th century.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, the faithful in relation to their pastor, comes from the Gospel parable of the good and the bad shepherd (John 10).^[2][4][3] It is already found as üeiles in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence in 1176 and as owayles in an Anglo-Norman text about 1240, then in Marot about 1540.^[2][3] The animal sense was gradually displaced by brebis and survives only in the dialects of the Centre, the West and the South-West; since the 17th century general French has used the word only in its Christian sense, usually in the plural.^[3][4][2] By extension it is sometimes used of a follower or adherent.^[3][2]

Timeline

• first half of the 12th century – Oeille “ewe” in the Oxford Psalter.^[2]
• 1160–1174 – Oaille in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[2]
• 1176 – Üeiles “the faithful” in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's Saint Thomas.^[2]
• c. 1240 – Anglo-Norman owayles “the faithful”.^[2][3]
• 14th century – The form ouaille in a manuscript of the Clef d'Amors.^[2]
• 1541 – Ouailles “the faithful” in Marot.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, regional) A sheep, especially a ewe.^[2][5][1]
2. (literary) Usually in the plural, the flock: the faithful in relation to their priest or pastor.^[2][5][6]
3. (by extension) A follower or adherent.^[2][3]

Related words

• brebis
• mouton
• ovin
• Latin ovis

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse