patrouiller

Forms

patrouiller^[1]

Etymology

In the sense “to patrol” the TLFi and the DHLF take it as a military specialization, in the 16th century, of the older verb of the same spelling “to handle messily, to paddle in mud”, which is a variant from French patouiller with an /ʁ/ taken from dialect words of similar sense such as gadrouiller and vadrouiller.^{[2][3][1][4][5]} Etymonline likewise explains it as originally “tramp through the mud”, probably soldiers' slang.^[6] The GLLF instead derives the military verb from the noun patrouille “patrol”.^[7]

patouiller is formed on patte (“paw”).^[8][6] Littré cites Picard patrouiller (“to walk in mud, stir water”), with a similar form from Champagne.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi dates the sense “to go on patrol” to 1553, in Le Plessis's translation of Aristotle's Ethics.^[2][8] The verb itself appears in the early 15th century in the Quinze joies de mariage, meaning “to handle messily”.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The noun patrouille, first (1538) “paddling, messing about” and a mop of old rags, took the sense “watch round by a military detachment” in 1559 under the influence of the verb, and later the detachment itself (1671).^[3][2] The verb in this military sense later aged somewhat in favour of phrases built on the noun, faire une patrouille and aller en patrouille.^[3] From 1903 (Larousse) it is also used by analogy of going back and forth in search of something.^[7]

English patrol was taken from patrouille in the 1660s, and the English verb (1690s) partly from patrouiller.^[6]

Timeline

• early 15th century – Patrouiller “to handle messily” in the Quinze joies de mariage.^[2]
• 1553 – First recorded in the sense “to go on patrol”.^[2]
• 1559 – The noun patrouille takes the sense “patrol”.^[2][3]
• 1690s – English patrol as a verb, partly from patrouiller.^[6]
• 1790 – The derivative patrouillard “soldier on patrol”.^[2]
• 1903 – Larousse records the sense “to go back and forth in search”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To patrol, to go on patrol, as in Des gendarmes patrouillent dans le quartier.^[8][2][1]
2. (by analogy) To go back and forth on the lookout for something.^[7]

Word family

• patrouillard

Related words

• patrouille
• patouiller
• patte
• vadrouiller
• English patrol

Usage notes

The older verb patrouiller “to paddle in mud, to splash about” and transitively “to handle messily, to paw at”, a synonym of patouiller, is listed as a separate headword by the TLFi and the GLLF and is now archaic or familiar.^[2][7][9] Littré prescribed the pronunciation with a palatal ⟨ll⟩, not /j/.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ 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. 8, 40a
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette