parcelle

Forms

parcelle f (plural parcelles)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *particella, a remodelling of Latin particula (“small part, particle”), a diminutive of pars (“part”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is a doublet of the learned particule.^[1][5]

Cognate with Italian particella, Old Occitan parsela and Spanish partecilla.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears without context in the Statutes of Henry II (1162); in a 13th-century treatise on rural economy written in England it means a small part of a whole, an item in an account of receipts and expenses.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The accounting sense has disappeared.^[3] From 1563 (Palissy) parcelle named a piece of ground under one crop, and later the unit of the land register; in forestry it is a fairly uniform section of forest (20th century), and in African French a building plot.^[2][3][8] A figurative use for a tiny part of something abstract is found in 1379, in Jean de Brie.^[9] English took parcel in the late 14th century from Old French parcele and Medieval Latin parcella.^[10]

Timeline

• 1162 – First recorded, in the Statutes of Henry II.^[5][2]
• 13th century – It means an item in a detailed account.^[2][3]
• 1379 – Jean de Brie uses it figuratively.^[9]
• 1458 – The adjective parsellé “divided into small fields” appears.^[3]
• 1563 – Palissy uses it for a plot of land under one crop.^[2][3]
• 1760 – The verb parceller is formed.^[3]
• 1791 – Parcellaire is recorded.^[4]
• 1946 – It is used in forestry.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tiny piece or fragment of matter: des parcelles de métal.^[8][2]
2. A plot of land under one crop, the unit of the land register.^[8][11]
3. (figurative) A tiny part of something abstract: sans une parcelle de remords.^[8][9]
4. (forestry) A fairly uniform section of a forest.^[2][3]
5. (Africa) A building plot.^[3]

Word family

• parceller
• parcellaire
• parcellement

Related words

• particule
• part
• Latin particula
• English parcel

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 675b
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette