pichet

Forms

pichet m (plural pichets)^[1]

Etymology

It is a dialect word of Normandy, the west and the centre of France,^[2][3][4] it is from Old French pichier (“pitcher”) with its suffix changed to -et.^[2][3][5] The Old French word (about 1170), also picier (before 1188), comes from Late Latin picārium (“vessel for liquids”), found in glosses of the 8th to 11th centuries as bicarium, bicarius and pigarium;^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF see the Old French word as an alteration of the Old Walloon bichier, which Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF think was altered after pot.^[4][6][5] The Latin forms are derived from Ancient Greek βῖκος (bîkos, “amphora, earthen vessel”).^[2][3][4][7] Rey links the Greek word to an Egyptian name of an oil vessel used as a measure, probably of Semitic origin.^[3]

The Late Latin word also passed into Germanic, giving Old High German behhāri and German Becher (“beaker”), and into Italian bicchiere.^[3][4][8] The Old French word gave Middle English pichere, whence pitcher.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1288, in a charter quoted by Godefroy, as a measure of earthenware: cinc pichez “five pichets”.^[2][3] In the 13th century a Rouen record uses it as a measure of oats.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages pichet was mainly a unit of measure, for liquids and also for grain.^[2] The Dictionnaire de Trévoux of 1732 describes it as a small earthenware jug with a spout, used by wine merchants and also for drinking;^[2] Littré still treated it as a regional word, from Lamballe in Brittany, for a small handled pot for water or wine.^[8] Balzac in 1832 called the pewter pichet an age-old jug of the west of France.^[2] In modern French it is the ordinary word for a small jug in which wine or cider is served, and vin en pichet is house wine served from a jug rather than in a bottle.^[10][2]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Old French picher appears in the Livre des Rois.^[2][5]
• 1226 – Bichet, a measure of grain, is recorded.^[3][4]
• 1288 – Pichez is used as a measure in a charter.^[2]
• 1339 – Un pichet et demi in a document of the Archives nationales.^[2]
• 1732 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux describes the wine merchant's jug.^[2]
• 1819 – Boiste records it.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small jug of earthenware, stoneware, glass or pewter, with a narrow neck, a handle and often a spout, for serving drinks: un pichet en faïence.^[2][10][5]
2. The contents of such a jug: Ils ont commandé un pichet de rosé.^[2][10]

Related words

• bichet
• English pitcher
• German Becher
• Italian bicchiere

Usage notes

Vin en pichet (wine served from a jug) is contrasted with wine en bouteille.^[10]

References

1. ^ 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 h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 361b
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert