polaire

Forms

polaire (plural polaires)^[1] As a noun for the fabric or garment it is used both as un polaire and une polaire.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin polāris (“situated near a pole”), taken to serve as the adjective of pôle.^[3][2][4] The Medieval Latin word is formed on Latin polus (“pole of the sky”), from Ancient Greek πόλος (pólos, “pivot, axis, pole”).^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1555, in a poem by G. Aubert printed with Ronsard's Continuation des Amours, meaning “situated near a pole”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with the Latin sense and soon formed cercle polaire “polar circle” (1578) and étoile polaire “pole star” (1585).^[3][2] By metonymy it came to describe what belongs to the cold, empty polar regions, as in mer polaire (1842), and hence expédition polaire (1906).^[2][3]

Like pôle, it passed into optics (1720), mathematics (1811), magnetism and electricity (1868) and biology (1875).^[2] In mathematics it gave coordonnées polaires (1811) and, as a noun, la polaire of a point with respect to a conic (1874).^[3] As an intensifier it describes a very sharp cold (before 1889) and, figuratively, a cold, distant person (early 20th century).^[2][5]

Recently laine polaire or fibre polaire has named a warm, insulating polyester fibre, and hence the noun polaire, the fabric and a jacket made of it.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1555 – First record, “situated near a pole”.^[3][4]
• 1578 – Cercle polaire appears in Pontus de Tyard.^[3][2]
• 1585 – Pontus de Tyard has estoile Polaire.^[3][2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records étoile polaire, according to the GLLF.^[5]
• 1811 – Coordonnées polaires in Poisson's mechanics.^[3]
• 1842 – Mer polaire is recorded.^[2]
• 1869 – Littré records an electrical sense.^[3]
• 1875 – Globules polaires in anatomy.^[3]
• 1906 – Expédition polaire “expedition to the pole”.^[3][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or near the poles of the earth or the sky: étoile Polaire, cercle polaire.^[6][7][8]
2. Belonging to the cold polar regions: climat polaire, ours polaire.^[6][8]
3. (by extension) Very cold: un froid polaire.^[6][2]
4. (physics, chemistry, biology) Having or relating to poles: molécules polaires, globules polaires.^[3][7]

Noun

1. (feminine) The Pole Star: la Polaire.^[6][9]
2. (mathematics) The polar line of a point with respect to a conic.^[3][7]
3. (aviation) The curve plotting the lift of a wing against its drag.^[7]
4. Fleece, the warm polyester fabric, and a jacket made of it.^[6][2][1]

Word family

• polarité

Related words

• pôle
• Medieval Latin polāris
• English polar

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette