pierrot

Forms

pierrot m (plural pierrots, feminine pierrette)^[1]

Etymology

It is the given name from French Pierrot used as a common noun.^[2][3][4] The name is a diminutive formed from French Pierre + -ot, the name being from Latin Petrus.^[2][1] Littré traces the Latin name to Ancient Greek Πέτρος (Pétros).^[5][6]

The sense “stage character” is the same name, perhaps influenced by Italian Pedrolino, the name of a commedia dell'arte character recorded from 1584.^[2][3][7] The REW lists the word, in the sense “clown”, among the derivatives of the Latin name.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The name, in the form Per(r)ot, appears in the 16th-century comparison gai comme Perot “very merry”, and La Fontaine uses pierrot for a peasant in 1668.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Racine's letter of 1691 records Pierrots as the soldiers' nickname for the French Guards, after the grey-white colour of their uniform, which recalled the costume of the Italian comedy's character.^[2][3][9] The character of the pantomime, naive and dreamy, dressed in white with a floured face, was made popular by the mime Deburau.^[7][9] From his costume the word named a woman's bodice (1748) and a pleated ruff (1820),^[2] and his whiteness made it a slang word for a glass of white wine in 1844.^[2]

From the character's naivety, un pierrot became a simpleton (1834 in the DHLF, 1862 in the TLFi), then any fellow, and in army slang a raw recruit (1865).^[3][2][10] Separately, the name was given to the house sparrow (La Fontaine, 1694).^[2][4] English pierrot (1733) is from French Pierrot.^[11]

Timeline

• 16th century – Gai comme Perot “very merry”.^[3]
• 1668 – La Fontaine uses it for a peasant.^[3]
• 1691 – Racine records Pierrots as a nickname of the French Guards.^[2][3]
• 1694 – La Fontaine uses it for the sparrow.^[2][4]
• 1748 – It names a woman's bodice.^[2][12]
• 1844 – Slang asphyxier le pierrot “to drink a glass of white wine”.^[2]
• 1865 – Army slang for a recruit.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (familiar) The house sparrow.^[10][2][1]
2. A man dressed as Pierrot, the pantomime character in white with a floured face.^[10][2]
3. (dated, pejorative) A simpleton, a fool, an ordinary fellow.^[2]
4. (military slang, dated) A raw recruit.^[10][2]

Word family

• pierrette

Related words

• Pierre
• Latin Petrus
• Italian Pedrolino
• English pierrot

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 330a
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF