poix

Forms

poix f (uncountable)^[1] Old French peiz, then poiz and pois.^[2][3] Middle French also kept the forms pis, piche and pice.^[3][4] The spelling poix, after the Latin, is found from about 1560.^[5][2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French peiz, inherited from Latin pix (“pitch”) (accusative ⟨picem⟩).^{[4][6][3][7][5]} The modern ⟨x⟩ is a spelling after the Latin word.^[3] Rey traces the Latin word to an old root also seen in Ancient Greek πίσσα (píssa, “pitch”) and in old Slavic forms;^[3] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *pī́ts (“pitch, resin”).^[1]

Cognate with Italian pece, Spanish pez, Portuguese pez and Catalan pega; the Latin word survives in every Romance language except Romanian.^[7][8][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as peiz in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), in a comparison: neirs cume peiz ki est demise, “as black as melted pitch”.^[4][9]

Semantic evolution

Later uses follow what pitch was used for: poured boiling from the walls of a fortress (early 12th century), for caulking and making things rot-proof (about 1200), for ointments and plasters (14th century) and for greasing machinery (1434).^[4][3] Types of pitch gave names such as poix résine and poix blanche de Bourgogne, both in Olivier de Serres in 1600.^[4][3]

In the thieves' jargon of Villon (before 1465) the word meant a thief, because a robber lays hands on everything as if his hands were coated with pitch;^[3][4] the same idea is behind poissard “thief” and poisser “to steal”.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Peiz appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[4][5]
• Early 12th century – Boiling pitch poured from fortresses is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1200 – It is used for caulking ships.^[4][3]
• 1434 – Pitch is used to grease a machine.^[4][3]
• Before 1465 – Villon's jargon uses it for a thief.^[3]
• c. 1560 – The spelling poix appears, in Paré.^[2]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres names poix blanche de Bourgogne and poix-resine.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Pitch: a sticky, viscous and flammable substance made from resins and wood tar, used mainly to make joints watertight.^[4][10]
2. Poix-résine: a resin pitch used in sizing paper.^[10]

Word family

• poissard
• poisser
• poisseux

Related words

• Latin pix

Usage notes

Littré quotes the 16th-century proverb Qui traite la poix s'embrouille les doigts (“whoever handles pitch dirties his fingers”), and the phrase cela tient comme poix for something that sticks fast.^[9] Poix sounds the same as poids, pois and pouah.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
5. ^ a b c 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. 8, 620a
7. ^ a b c 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert