peindre

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pɛ̃dʁ/^[1]

Forms

peindre^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French peindre, inherited from Latin pingō (“to paint, colour; to embroider; to adorn; to depict”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Rey and the Petit Robert relate the Latin verb to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *peyḱ- (“to adorn, mark”), seen in Avestan paēsa (“ornament”) and Old High German fēh (“many-coloured”), and in words for writing such as Old Persian niyapaišam (“I wrote”); Ancient Greek ποικίλος (poikílos, “many-coloured”) belongs to the same root.^[3][7]

Cognate with Italian pingere, Occitan pintar, Catalan pintar, Spanish pintar and Portuguese pintar.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has the past participle for decorating with colour: Et cil escuz, ki ben sunt peinz a flurs, “and those shields, well painted with flowers”; the same poem has it for depicting with lines and colour.^[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

Decorating with colour was said of shields, marble, cloth (toile peinte, 1690) and wallpaper (papier peint, 1834).^[2][3] The participle peint meant “coloured, variegated” in 16th-century poetry (Marot, 1525–33).^[2][3] The verb has a metaphorical use from about 1165 and a reflexive se peindre “to show itself” (Madame de La Fayette, 1669–84).^[3][2] By analogy it meant to make up the face (Montaigne, 1588), and one said peindre sa barbe (Marot, before 1544) where modern French says teindre.^[2][3]

Its sense “to describe” (Eneas, about 1160) declined in favour of dépeindre.^[2][3] Achever de peindre quelqu'un, to complete his ruin, is recorded before 1526 (Jean Marot).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Peinz, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1160 – “To describe”, Eneas.^[2]
• 1290 – repeindre.^[5]
• Before 1526 – Achever de peindre.^[2]
• 1588 – “To make up the face”, Montaigne.^[2]
• 1690 – Toile peinte, Furetière.^[2]
• 1834 – Papier peint.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To paint, cover with paint: peindre un mur en bleu.^[7][10][1]
2. To paint a picture of; to represent in painting; absolutely, to be a painter.^[7][2]
3. To depict in words, describe.^[2][10]
4. Se peindre: to show, be reflected: la mort se peignait sur son visage.^[2]
5. (dated) To make up, dye.^[3]

Word family

• peintre
• peinture
• repeindre

Related words

• dépeindre
• Latin pingō

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 k l m n o p q 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 522b
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse