pin

Forms

pin m (plural pins)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pīnus (“pine tree, pinewood”).^[2][3][4][5] In Latin poetry the word also stood for things made of pinewood, such as a ship or a lance.^[5] Its further origin is uncertain: Rey connects it with Ancient Greek πίτυς (pítus, “pine”) and a root meaning “resin” also seen in Latin pītuīta;^[5] De Vaan weighs the Greek link, a connection with pix (“pitch, resin”), and a non-Indo-European tree name;^[6] Wiktionary derives it from Proto-Indo-European *poi- (“sap, juice”).^[1] Cognate with Romanian pin, Italian pino, Occitan pin, Catalan pi and Spanish pino.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), for the tree: Dessouz un pin, delez un eglantier.^[2][8][9]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its sense of a resinous conifer, common around the Mediterranean and in the mountains, and is also used for its wood.^[5][10] The fruit was a pume de pin about 1200, the modern pomme de pin.^[2][9] Qualified phrases name the species: pin maritime (Richelet, 1680), pin sylvestre (1845) and pin parasol (Flaubert, 1850).^[2][9][5]

Derivatives include pine, first “pine cone” (13th century), and probably pineau (a grape variety and its wine), named for its cone-shaped bunch, from which came the soldiers' slang pinard “wine”.^[4] Pinière (1569) and pineraie (1873) have been pushed aside by pinède, borrowed from Provençal in 1842.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Pin in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1200 – Pume de pin “pine cone” in Beuve de Hantone.^[2][9]
• 1569 – The derivative pinière “pine wood”.^[5]
• 1680 – Richelet records pin maritime.^[2][9]
• 1842 – Pinède is borrowed from Provençal.^[5]
• 1845 – Pin sylvestre is recorded.^[2]
• 1850 – Flaubert uses pin parasol.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pine, a resinous conifer (genus Pinus) with evergreen needles and cones: pin sylvestre, pin maritime, pin parasol.^[10][2][11]
2. Pine, the light wood of this tree: une table en pin.^[10][11]
3. Pomme de pin: a pine cone.^[10][9]

Word family

• pine
• pineau
• pinière
• pineraie

Related words

• pinède
• pinasse
• pinastre
• Latin pīnus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b 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 f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)