pinson

Forms

pinson m (plural pinsons, feminine pinsonne)^[1] Old French pinçun.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pinçun, inherited from Vulgar Latin *pincio (“finch”), formed on an expressive stem that imitates the bird's call.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg also call it a Late Latin word whose stem matches the bird's cry,^[5] and the Grand Robert thinks it probably a Gaulish word of imitative origin.^[6] Wiktionary likewise derives the Vulgar Latin word from Gaulish, comparing Welsh pinc.^[1] The classical Latin fringilla survives only in Italy, as Italian fringuello.^[2][3][5]

This type is used in nearly all the Gallo-Romance dialects, often with another suffix or with an initial /k/;^[3][5] cognates are Tuscan pincione, Corsican pinziolo, Sicilian pinzuni and Spanish pinzón.^[2][3][7] Celtic and Germanic forms such as German Fink and the English word spink seem to come from the same expressive root.^[3][2] Littré mentions an older derivation from Ancient Greek σπινίδιον (spinídion) and the idea that the bird was named for its hard pinch (after pincer), which the Romance forms rule out.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as pinçun about 1185 in Marie de France's Purgatoire saint Patrice, naming the finch: N'i aureit il comparisun Plus que de l'egle e del pinçun “there would be no more comparison than between the eagle and the finch”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed in common use as the name of a small songbird.^[3] The cheerful song of the finch, often kept in a cage, gave the phrase gai comme un pinson “as merry as a finch” (1696, Dancourt).^[3][9] From this supposed gaiety Musset named his heroine Mimi Pinson (1845), the type of the merry, hard-working young girl.^[3]

The derivative pinsonnière (1768) is a regional name of the great tit.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1185 – Pinçun appears in Marie de France's Purgatoire saint Patrice.^[2][3]
• 13th century – The spelling pinson is recorded.^[9]
• 1696 – Dancourt uses gai comme un pinson.^[9][3]
• 1768 – Pinsonnière “great tit” is recorded.^[3]
• 1845 – Musset creates the character Mimi Pinson.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A finch, a small passerine bird with a short conical beak and a pleasant song, especially the chaffinch (pinson des arbres).^[2][10]
2. Gai comme un pinson: very cheerful, as merry as a lark: ce matin, Paul est gai comme un pinson.^[10][3]

Word family

• pinsonnière

Related words

• Vulgar Latin *pincio
• Spanish pinzón

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 518b
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6509a
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert