page

page¹ leaf of a book

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paʒ/^[1]

Forms

page f (plural pages)^[1]

Etymology

The page of a book is borrowed from Latin pāgina (“leaf, page”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Littré connected the Latin word with pangō (“to fasten”), first a plate or a thing fixed.^[6] Old Walloon and Old Picard had “pagene”, “pagine”, and Rabelais wrote “pagine”.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174) uses it for either side of a leaf that can carry writing.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

About 1220 it meant by extension a text or story, and in 1530 the writing on a page.^[2] Printing gave mettre en pages (1765) and mise en pages (1835); a page de l'histoire, a period in the life of a person or a people, dates from 1801, and page as a piece of music or literature from 1832 (Hugo).^[2]

Tourner la page “to move on” is in Clemenceau (1899); être à la page was soldiers' slang for “to be well informed” (1914) before it meant “to be up to date with fashion” (1921).^[2]

Timeline

• 1160–1174 – A page, Wace.^[2]
• c. 1220 – A text, a story.^[2]
• 1765 – Mettre en pages.^[2]
• 1801 – Une page de l'histoire.^[2]
• 1899 – Tourner la page, Clemenceau.^[2]
• 1914 – Être à la page.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A page, each side of a leaf of paper: à la page 4, page blanche, la première page d'un journal.^[7][1]
2. What is written on a page; a passage of a work: les plus belles pages de Proust.^[2][7]
3. An episode, a period: une page de l'histoire, tourner la page, to put the past behind one.^[2][1]
4. Être à la page: to be up to date.^[2][1]
5. A web page: page d'accueil.^[1]

Word family

• pagination
• paginer

page² page boy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paʒ/^[1]

Forms

page m (plural pages)^[1]

Etymology

The page boy is a word of uncertain origin.^[2][8] Bloch and Wartburg and the FEW derive it from Ancient Greek παιδίον (paidíon, “little boy; young slave”), a diminutive of παῖς (paîs, “child”), through a romanized “*paidiu”.^[4][9] A borrowing from Italian paggio is difficult, since the Italian word is recorded only after 1350, later than the French, Bloch and Wartburg think it comes from French instead.^{[2][8][4][10]} Holthausen proposed Latin pathicus (“passive homosexual”), Spitzer a Latin “*pagicus” “peasant” from pāgus (“countryside”); the TLFi and Rey reject both.^[2][8] Littré, noting that the early page was a lowly servant, compared Old Occitan pages (“peasant”), from Latin “pagensis”.^[6]

The English word page was borrowed from French about 1300.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier de Coinci's Miracles de Nostre-Dame (about 1225) uses it for a young servant, Guiart (about 1307) for an army servant.^[2][11][6]

Semantic evolution

After 1350 a page was a boy, usually of noble family, attached to a prince or lord, estre hors de paige (1456, Antoine de La Sale) meant to be past the age of being a page, and figuratively, from Rabelais (1532), to be free of all dependence.^[2][8] Furetière noted in 1690 that only recently had noble pages been distinguished from humble ones on foot, called laquais.^[8]

In the 19th century it was a fashion term for a clip hooked to the belt to hold up a skirt (1868, after page-agrafe 1847), and in hunting a young stag that an old one keeps by him to put the hounds off the scent (1874).^[2][8]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – A young servant, Gautier de Coinci.^[2]
• late 14th century – A noble boy in a lord's service.^[2]
• 1456 – Estre hors de paige, Antoine de La Sale.^[2]
• 1532 – Être hors de page figuratively, Rabelais.^[2]
• 1868 – A skirt clip.^[2]
• 1874 – A young stag, in hunting.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A page: a young noble placed with a king, lord or great lady to learn the use of arms and serve.^[7][1]
2. (dated) Hardi, effronté comme un page: very bold, impudent.^[7][11]
3. (hunting) A young stag accompanying an old one.^[2][11]

Usage notes

A third page (masculine, also pageot and paje) is a slang word for a bed, recorded from 1916, shortened from pageot.^[3][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 472b
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 474a
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
11. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
12. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF