outil

Forms

outil m (plural outils)^[1] Old French ustil, hustil and ostil (12th century), then oustil (about 1268), and outil from 1538.^[2][3][4] In the 16th century it was often util, after the adjective utile, a form still used in some dialects of the East and South-West.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ostil, inherited from Vulgar Latin *usitilium, the singular of a neuter plural *usitilia, an alteration of Classical Latin ūtēnsilia (“necessary things, furniture, utensils”).^[6][4][7][2] The classical word is the neuter plural of the adjective ūtēnsilis (“useful”), from ūtor (“to use”).^[3] A crossing with the Latin verb behind user would explain the ⟨s⟩ of the Vulgar Latin plural, but not the shortening of the long initial vowel of the classical word;^[6][4][5] the GLLF instead takes the alteration from ūsitor (“to use often”).^[3] Late Latin forms beginning with ⟨os-⟩ are recorded from the 8th and 9th centuries.^[6][4]

Bloch and Wartburg note that the word is found only in French and in some dialects of northern Italy.^[5] ustensile is a learned word from the same Latin source.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in the Voyage de saint Brendan (early 12th century), is the plural ustilz, the equipment and necessaries taken on board for a voyage.^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, a made object used to do a piece of work, is found in 1174 in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence and has remained the usual one.^[6][4] A popular sense “male member” is recorded from the 13th century and has survived, while Montaigne's use for any organ of the body (about 1580) has not.^[4][6]

In the 13th century the word took the figurative sense “means of action” (before 1272).^[6][4] It was said of a person who serves as another's instrument (before 1615) and, in familiar use, of a clumsy or incompetent person (1808), uses now archaic.^[6][4] The industrial age gave machine-outil (1857), and linguists use mot-outil for a grammatical word (1922).^[4] Rey notes that outil is no longer felt to be linked to ustensile, though it stays close to it and to instrument in meaning.^[4]

Timeline

• Early 12th century – Ustilz “equipment for a voyage” appears in the Voyage de saint Brendan.^[6]
• 1174 – Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence uses it for a tool.^[6][4]
• 13th century – The fabliaux use it for the male member.^[6]
• c. 1268 – The form oustil is recorded.^[2][4]
• Before 1272 – Jean Bretel uses it figuratively for a means of action.^[6]
• 1538 – The spelling outil is recorded, in Robert Estienne.^[3][4]
• Before 1615 – Étienne Pasquier uses it of a person who serves as another's instrument.^[6]
• 1808 – Hautel records it for a clumsy person.^[6][4]
• 1857 – Machine-outil is recorded.^[4]
• 1922 – Linguists coin mot-outil.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tool, a made object used by hand to work on materials or do a task: une caisse à outils.^[6][8][1]
2. (figurative) A means or instrument for achieving something.^[6][4]
3. (dated) A person used by another as an instrument.^[6]
4. (familiar, dated) A clumsy or incompetent person.^[6][4]
5. (vulgar) The penis.^[6][4]
6. Mot-outil (linguistics): a grammatical or function word.^[4]

Word family

• outiller
• outillage

Related words

• ustensile
• user
• Latin ūtēnsilia

Usage notes

The final ⟨l⟩ is silent, and the ⟨s⟩ of the plural is sounded in liaison.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 87a
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette