pêle-mêle

Forms

pêle-mêle^[1] Old French mesle mesle, mesle pesle, pesle et mesle, pelle melle; the modern spelling dates from 1636.^[2][3][4] Since the 1990 spelling reform also written pêlemêle.^[5][6]

Etymology

It is from Old French mesle mesle, a reduplication of the imperative of mesler (“to mix”) (modern mêler), altered: the first ⟨m⟩ was changed to ⟨p⟩ to avoid repeating the initial /m/.^{[7][8][4][9][3]} Rey offers a second explanation, which links the first element with Old French pesle (“bolt”) (modern pêne), a badly closed bolt suggesting disorder;^[3] Littré preferred Diez's idea of pelle “shovel”, as if “mixed with a shovel”.^[10] Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain.^[1] The Old French verb is *misculō, an extension of Latin misceō (“to mix”).^[9]

Littré compares Walloon pelle et mell.^[10] The doublet méli-mélo is a variant with a change of vowel.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Already in the 12th century it meant “in confusion, in a disorderly heap”: Benoît de Sainte-Maure writes mesle pesle od eus i entrassent (“they would have entered with them all in a jumble”) and Chrétien de Troyes has the clouds pouring rain, snow and hail tot mesle mesle.^[10][2]

Semantic evolution

The forms competed through the Middle Ages, and pesle mesle prevailed from the early 13th century.^[3][2] Guillaume de Lorris writes pelle melle in the Roman de la Rose.^[2][4]

Used as a noun from 1596, it means a jumble or confusion.^[2][3] Littré records vivre pêle-mêle for living crowded together and the court rule of le pêle-mêle, ordered to avoid quarrels over precedence.^[10] In the 20th century it also named a frame holding several photographs (1923 in the Petit Robert, 1932 in Rey).^[8][3] The rare verb pêle-mêler “to mix in disorder” is formed on it.^[3]

English took it as pell-mell in the 1570s.^[11]

Timeline

• 1174–1177 – Pel et melle appears in the Roman de Renart.^[2][3]
• c. 1175 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure writes mele pesle.^[2]
• 1176–1181 – Chrétien de Troyes uses mesle mesle.^[2]
• early 13th century – Pesle mesle prevails.^[3][2]
• 1570s – English borrows it as pell-mell.^[11]
• 1596 – Pasquier uses it as a noun, “mixture, confusion”.^[2][3]
• 1636 – Monet spells it pêle-mêle.^[4][7]
• 1923 – It names a frame for several photographs.^[8]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In complete disorder, all jumbled together: jeter ses vêtements pêle-mêle sur le lit.^[8][5][2]

Noun

1. (dated) A jumble, a confused mixture of things or people.^[5][8][10]
2. A frame or mount holding several photographs.^[8][5][6]

Word family

• pêle-mêler

Related words

• mêler
• méli-mélo
• mêlée
• English pell-mell

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
6. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com