peigne

Forms

peigne m (plural peignes)^[1] Old French piegne, pigne, pingne, pinne and pine, Anglo-Norman peyne, Middle French paigne.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French peigne, inherited from Latin pecten (“comb, carding comb”), through its accusative.^[2][3][4][1] The regular Old French outcome was piegne, pigne or pinne, which became regional and was gradually replaced by the present form (about 1250), remade after the verb peigner.^[3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg note that the older form lasted until the 16th century.^[5]

The Latin noun is formed from pectō (“to comb”), which in imperial times gave way to pectinō, the source of the French verb.^[3] Littré and the DHLF compare Ancient Greek πέκω (pékō, “to comb, shear”).^[6][3]

Cognate with Italian pettine, Occitan penche, Spanish peine and Portuguese pente.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier de la charrette (1176–1181), for a comb for the hair: Es danz del peigne ot des chevos “there were hairs in the teeth of the comb”.^[2][7] The same passage speaks of un peigne d'ivoire doré, a gilded ivory comb.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The comb for the hair gave several phrases: donner quelque tour de pigne, used figuratively by Montaigne in 1580 for putting the finishing touches to a piece of writing, se donner un coup de peigne (1713) and sale comme un peigne “very dirty” (1808).^[2][3][7] By likeness of shape or use it named a comb for grooming horses (1402–1407), the reed of a loom (1282–1284, as pine at Saint-Omer) and a tool for marbling paper (1765).^[2][3]

It was used in anatomy for the metacarpus and metatarsus (1314) but did not last there; in zoology it names comb-like appendages of certain insects, and the botanical name peigne de Vénus (1544) renders the Latin pecten Veneris of Pliny.^[3] In African French a peigne is a wooden comb with long, widely spaced teeth.^[3]

Timeline

• 1176–1181 – Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier de la charrette mentions a comb.^[2][7]
• c. 1250 – The form peigne begins to replace pigne.^[3]
• 1282–1284 – Pine names the reed of a loom at Saint-Omer.^[2][3]
• 1314 – It names the metacarpus and metatarsus.^[3]
• 1402–1407 – It names a comb for horses.^[2][3]
• 1544 – The plant name peigne de Vénus is recorded.^[3]
• 1580 – Montaigne writes donner quelque tour de pigne.^[2][3]
• 1713 – Hamilton has se donner un coup de peigne.^[2][7]
• 1765 – It names a tool for marbling paper.^[3]
• 1808 – Sale comme un peigne is recorded.^[3][7]
• 1962 – Passer quelque chose au peigne fin is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A comb, a toothed instrument for untangling and smoothing the hair: un peigne en corne;^[8][2] se donner un coup de peigne, to run a comb quickly through one's hair;^[8][2] passer au peigne fin, to examine in every detail;^[8][2] sale comme un peigne, very dirty.^[8][2]
2. An ornamental comb that holds a woman's hair in place.^[8]
3. (technical) A comb for carding flax, hemp or wool; the reed of a loom; a decorator's comb for imitating the grain of wood; a rake for picking bilberries.^[8]
4. (zoology) A row of bristles on an insect's leg, such as the pollen comb of the bee; the comb-like organs of scorpions; the pecten of a bird's eye; a scallop.^[8]
5. (botany) Peigne de Vénus: shepherd's needle, a plant of the carrot family with a long-beaked fruit.^[8][3]

Word family

• pignon
• peignier

Related words

• peigner
• Latin pecten

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 l m n 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 k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert