Etymologically
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patte

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Pronunciation

Forms

patte f (plural pattes)[1]

Etymology

The TLFi, Rey, the Petit Robert and the GLLF derive it from an imitative stem ⟨patt-⟩, evoking the sound of two objects striking each other, which is widespread in Romance: compare Occitan pato, Spanish pata and Portuguese pata.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The Grand Robert, after Pierre Guiraud, calls it a Gallo-Roman stem of Gaulish origin applied to swollen or flat objects (hands, paws, lips).[8] Wiktionary instead derives it, through Vulgar Latin *patta, from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), and compares Dutch poot (“paw”).[1]

Old French more often said poe or pote “paw”, from a pre-Celtic *pauta (see empoter), but the newer word, also beginning with /p/, prevailed.[2][3] The word for “foot”, Latin pēs, survived only in the narrower sense of pied.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman de Renart (1174–77) has pate for the leg of an animal, which carries the body and is used for walking.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

By metaphor it was applied to the human hand (1458), with the coarseness that the move from animal to man implies, in phrases such as tomber sous la patte de quelqu'un (about 1515), mettre la patte sur (1690) and bas les pattes ! (Verlaine, 1874).[2][3] It also meant the human arm (Villon, 1461) and leg or foot (1618), as in marcher à quatre pattes (Cotgrave, 1611), à pattes “on foot” (1858) and en avoir plein les pattes (1885).[2][3] Faire patte de velours was said of a cat drawing in its claws (1654), then of a person (1718).[2]

By likeness the word named many flat or hooked things: a strip of cloth on a garment, as trimming or fastening (1680), an officer's shoulder strap (1835), the flap of a wallet (1842), the fleshy root of some plants (1703) and an iron hook (1723).[2]

Timeline

  • 1174–77 – Pate, Roman de Renart.[2]
  • 1458 – The human hand, Arnoul Gréban.[2]
  • 1461 – The human arm, Villon.[2]
  • 1611 – Marcher à quatre pattes, Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1654 – Faire patte de velours.[2]
  • 1680 – A strip of cloth on a garment, Richelet.[2]
  • 1874 – Bas les pattes !, Verlaine.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The paw or leg of an animal, donner la patte, of a dog, to give a paw, faire patte de velours, to hide one's claws.[4][1][2]
  2. (familiar) A person's leg: à quatre pattes, on all fours, traîner la patte, to limp, to lag, court sur pattes, short-legged.[1][4]
  3. (familiar) A person's hand: bas les pattes !, hands off!, graisser la patte à quelqu'un, to bribe someone, montrer patte blanche, to show one's credentials.[1][4]
  4. A strip of material sewn on a garment as a fastening or trimming; a tab, a flap.[2][1]
  5. Pattes de mouche: spidery handwriting, pattes d'éléphant, flared trousers.[1]
  6. A hook or bracket for fixing.[2]

Word family

  • pattu
  • pataud
  • patauger
  • patin
  • patiner
  • épater
  • mille-pattes
  • patte-d'oie

Usage notes

The Grand Robert gives a second patte (16th century), a rag or strip of cloth, from Lombardic *paita (“garment”);[8][7] Meyer-Lübke likewise traces to that word French patte “rag; strip of cloth fastened with a button”, which survives in eastern dialects.[8][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 29b
  7. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert