plectre

Forms

plectre m (plural plectres)^[1] First as plectron (about 1220), then plectre (second half of the 14th century).^[2][3] Godefroy also has pletre.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin plectrum, from Ancient Greek πλῆκτρον (plêktron), from πλήσσω (plḗssō, “to strike”).^{[2][3][5][1][6]} The present form replaced the earlier plectron after 1350.^[3] Rey traces the Greek verb to an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *plak- (“to strike”), probably of imitative origin, also seen in apoplexie, plaie, plaindre and plancton.^[3] Etymonline gives the same root for the English word plectrum.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found, as plectron, in the Lancelot of about 1220,^[2][3] for the rod used to strike the strings of the lyre.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Greek the word named a striker, also a bee's sting or a spear point.^[3][8] In French it was taken up as a term of ancient music, the rod of wood, ivory or metal used to make the strings of the lyre or cithare vibrate.^[3][2] A 14th-century Légende dorée already has it of a psaltery,^[4][2] and around 1490 Saint-Gelais uses mon plectre of his own poetry.^[9] By extension, and in literary use, it came to stand for lyric poetry (1903).^[8]

By analogy it now names the small plate of tortoiseshell, bone or plastic used to pluck the strings of a mandolin, guitar and similar instruments, in competition with médiator (1932).^[3][8][10]

Timeline

• c. 1220 – Plectron appears in the Lancelot.^[2][3]
• 2nd half of the 14th century – The form plectre in a Légende dorée.^[2][4]
• Late 14th century – The English word plectrum is recorded, from Latin.^[7]
• 1873 – Littré defines it as the ivory rod the ancients used on the lyre.^[11]
• 1903 – Larousse records the figurative sense “lyric poetry”.^[8]
• 1932 – Larousse records the sense “pick for a stringed instrument”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (antiquity) A small rod of wood, ivory or metal used to strike or pluck the strings of the lyre or cithara.^[12][13][2]
2. A plectrum, pick: a small plate of tortoiseshell, wood, bone or plastic for plucking the strings of an instrument, a médiator.^[10][13][2]
3. (literary) Lyric poetry.^[8]

Related words

• médiator
• Latin plectrum

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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 57b
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
12. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)