peuplier

Forms

peuplier m (plural peupliers)^[1] Old French pouplier, poplier and Middle French poeplier;^[2][3][4] peuplier is first recorded in 1548.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Old French pople + -ier, from the Old French name of the poplar (also peuple), with the suffix of the names of fruit trees.^[3][4][5] That word, recorded only in the mid-15th century but surely older, is from Latin pōpulus (“poplar”)^[6] and survives in regional speech.^[3][4] Rey notes that the Latin word passed into the Celtic, Germanic and Slavic languages but has no clear etymology.^[4]

Cognate with Italian pioppo, Spanish chopo, Catalan poll and Romanian plop.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The GLLF dates pouplier to Benoît de Sainte-Maure about 1160, and the Grand Robert to 1165, both for the tree.^[2][8] The TLFi's first record is poplier in Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose (1275–1280).^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin, the word covers a tall, slender tree of several species, among them the aspen and the white poplar of riversides, and by metonymy its wood.^[4][10] Cotgrave records peuplier blanc in 1611 and Furetière peuplier tremble in 1690.^[2] Gerson compared a fickle man to the shaking leaf of the pouplier in the 15th century.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure writes pouplier.^[2]
• 1275–1280 – Jean de Meun writes poplier.^[3]
• 15th century – Evrart de Conty writes poeplier.^[3]
• 1548 – Melin de Saint-Gelais writes peuplier.^[3][4]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres records the derivative peupleraie.^[3][4]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records peuplier blanc.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A poplar, a tall, slender tree of damp places: peuplier blanc, peuplier noir, peuplier d'Italie.^[10][11][1]
2. The pale wood of this tree.^[10][4]

Word family

• peupleraie

Related words

• tremble
• Latin pōpulus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. 9, 181b
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert