peloton

Forms

peloton m (plural pelotons)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French pelote + -on, a diminutive.^[2][3][4] The base noun comes from Vulgar Latin *pilotta, a diminutive of pila (“ball”).^[5][6] Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1435, the TLFi to 1417.^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1417 the accounts of King René use it for a small ball of wound thread.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Besides a ball of thread, it meant any ball-shaped mass, such as pelotons de neige “snowballs” (1493).^[2][4] Furetière recorded in 1690 the figurative dévider le peloton “to unravel an affair”.^[2][8]

In the 17th century it came to mean a group of people gathered together:^[4] a small detachment of soldiers (1616, d'Aubigné), a small group of people (1666, Furetière), and later a group of soldiers under punishment (1809) and école de peloton (1835, Vigny).^[2] The group sense is no longer used, but the military small unit is still current.^[4] English took peloton from French in 1706 for a small body of soldiers.^[9]

In sport it named the competitors bunched together, first of horses in a race (1855), then of cyclists (1884).^[2][4] From 1937 it is used figuratively of a set of rivals compared with one another, with racing metaphors such as peloton de tête.^[2][4] The punishment squad gave the slang shortening les pelotes, as in envoyer aux pelotes (1890).^[4]

Timeline

• 1417 – First recorded, as a small ball of thread, in the accounts of King René.^[2]
• 1493 – Pelotons de neige “snowballs”.^[2]
• 1616 – D'Aubigné uses it for a small detachment of soldiers.^[2][4]
• 1666 – Furetière uses it for a small group of people.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records dévider le peloton.^[2]
• 1706 – English borrows peloton.^[9]
• 1855 – First used in sport, of horses running together.^[2][4]
• 1884 – Used of a bunch of cyclists.^[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small ball of wound thread, wool or string.^[7][10]
2. (natural science) A roughly round mass: un peloton de guêpes.^[7]
3. (military) A small unit of soldiers, a subdivision of a company or squadron, also in the gendarmerie and fire brigade.^[7][11]
4. Peloton d'exécution: a firing squad.^[7][10]
5. (sports) The main group of competitors in a race, especially in cycling: the peloton.^[10][11]
6. (figurative) A group of rivals in a field of activity: le peloton de tête.^[11][4]

Word family

• pelotonner
• peloton d'exécution

Related words

• pelote
• peloter
• Latin pila
• English peloton
• English platoon

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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, 481a
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)