pied
Pronunciation
- IPA: /pje/[1]
Forms
pied m (plural pieds)[1] Old French piet, pié; the -d was restored in Middle French after Latin, but pié is still found in La Fontaine.[1][2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French pié, inherited from Latin pēs (“foot”) (accusative “pedem”).[4][5][6][7][1] The Latin word goes back to the Indo-European name of the foot, also in Ancient Greek πούς (poús), Sanskrit पाद (pā́da), Gothic 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐍃 (fōtus) and English foot, Latin generalised the vowel “e” of the oblique cases.[5][8][1] Latin “pēs” already meant a support, a stalk, a unit of length and a metrical foot.[5]
Cognate with Italian piede, Occitan pe, Catalan peu, Spanish pie and Portuguese pé.[9][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
In the second half of the 10th century the Vie de saint Léger uses piet for the human foot.[4][3] About 1100 the Chanson de Roland has à pied “on foot”, en piez “standing” and descendre à pied “to dismount”.[4][8]
Semantic evolution
Gens de pied, foot soldiers, date from about 1160, mettre pied à terre from about 1200, pied à pied “step by step” from about 1195, and à pied sec from about 1240.[4][5] Middle French added prendre pied (1306), partir les pieds devant “to die” (1450–65), tenir pied ferme (1452) and à pied levé (about 1460).[4][5]
The 16th and 17th centuries brought avoir bon pied, bon œil (1527), pieds nus (1579), trouver chaussure à son pied (1606), ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser (1611), lâcher pied (1656–57) and avoir pied (1671).[4][5] Mettre les pieds dans le plat dates from 1808, mettre à pied a worker from 1898.[4] As a measure the pied was 32.5 cm, and in Quebec it renders the English foot.[1]
Timeline
- 2nd half of the 10th century – Piet in the Vie de saint Léger.[4]
- c. 1100 – À pied and en piez in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
- c. 1160 – Genz de pié, foot soldiers.[4]
- c. 1460 – À pied levé.[4]
- 1527 – Bon pied, bon œil.[4]
- 1611 – Ne pas savoir sur quel pied danser in Cotgrave.[4]
- 1656–1657 – Lâcher pied in Pascal.[4]
- 1808 – Mettre les pieds dans le plat.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- The foot: avoir mal aux pieds, à pied, on foot.[9][1]
- The foot or base of something: le pied d'une montagne, au pied du mur.[10]
- The leg or stand of a piece of furniture or equipment: le pied d'une table.[1][10]
- A plant, stalk: un pied de salade, pied de vigne.[10]
- A former unit of length, (Quebec) a foot (30.5 cm).[1]
- (poetry) A metrical foot; in French verse, a syllable.[1][6]
- (slang) C'est le pied: it's great.[1]
Word family
- casse-pieds
- pied-à-terre
- pied-bot
- pied-de-biche
- plain-pied
- peton
- piétiner
- contre-pied
- va-nu-pieds
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 293a
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)