pétrin

Forms

pétrin m (plural pétrins)^[1] Old French pestrin, the usual spelling until the middle of the 17th century;^[2][3][4] pétrin is recorded in 1688 (Miège).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pestrin, inherited from Latin pistrīnum (“mill for grain, bakery”).^[5][1][6] The Latin noun is derived from pistor (“one who pounds grain, baker”),^[2] and goes back to the supine pistum of pinsō (“to pound, crush”).^[3] It first named the place where grain was pounded in a mortar, then a mill and a bakery;^[2] the sense “kneading trough” arose only in Gallo-Romance.^[5][7][2]

Since the sense grew up in the language of town bakers, the word is rare in the dialects, which mostly say maie, arche or huche, or Occitan mastra in Provence.^[5][7][2] The Old Occitan form was pestrinh,^[7] and Littré cites Walloon prustein.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

As pestrin it is first found about 1170 in the Livre des Rois, meaning the wooden trough in which bread dough was kneaded.^[5][2][8]

Semantic evolution

When kneading by hand gave way to machines, the word passed by metonymy to the machine, first in pétrin mécanique (1832).^[2][5]

The figurative sense of an awkward situation with no way out is recorded from 1790, as dans le pétrain,^[5][2] and the Académie recorded dans le pétrin in 1798.^[9][3]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Pestrin appears in the Livre des Rois.^[5][3]
• 1688 – Miège records the spelling pétrin.^[3]
• 1790 – Dans le pétrain is used of a fix.^[5][10]
• 1798 – The Académie records dans le pétrin.^[9][3]
• 1832 – Pétrin mécanique is recorded.^[5][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kneading trough, the wooden chest in which bread dough was kneaded by hand.^[10][5]
2. Pétrin mécanique: a machine for kneading dough.^[10][5]
3. (familiar) A fix, an awkward situation that seems to have no way out: être dans le pétrin.^[10][8]

Related words

• pétrir
• maie
• Latin pistrīnum

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 602a
7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert