potasse

Forms

potasse f (plural potasses)^[1] First as the masculine pottas (1577, Liège).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch potasch (“pot ash”),^[2][4][1][5] first taken as the masculine pottas and then adapted with a French ending and the feminine gender (1690).^[3] The Dutch word is a compound of pot (“pot”) and asch (“ash”).^[2][5] Littré and the Wiktionnaire derive it from German Pottasche instead.^[6][7] The name comes from the way it was first made, by leaching wood ashes and boiling the solution down in a large iron pot.^[8]

English potash, Italian potassa and Spanish potasa are of the same origin.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1577, as pottas in a document from Liège, for potassium carbonate extracted from the ashes of certain plants.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The feminine potasse is recorded from 1676 or 1690 (Furetière).^[4][2][10] The word long named the “fixed alkali”, as opposed to the volatile one, used in particular as a fertilizer.^[3][10] In 1789 Lavoisier applied it to potassium hydroxide, a white solid soluble in water, used in washing, cleaning and the making of detergents.^[2][3]

The adjective potassé (1821) and potassique (1826) were formed from it.^[3] The name of the metal, potassium, was coined in 1807 by the English chemist H. Davy on the English potash, potass, and appears in French in 1808.^[3] Students' slang made potasser “to cram” from it (1867), likening hard work to the bubbling of potash in some reactions.^[4] In African French, potasse is a salt for cooking made from the ashes of wood or banana peel.^[3]

Timeline

• 1577 – Pottas (masculine) in a document from Liège.^[2][3]
• 1676 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for potasse.^[4]
• 1690 – Furetière records the feminine potasse.^[2][10]
• 1789 – Lavoisier uses it for potassium hydroxide.^[2][3]
• 1808 – Potassium, Davy's coinage, appears in French.^[3]
• 1821 – Potassé is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1867 – School slang potasser is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chemistry) Potassium hydroxide (KOH), a white, strongly alkaline solid, very soluble in water, also called potasse caustique.^[11][2][12]
2. Impure potassium carbonate, the potash of commerce.^[11][12]
3. (agriculture) The trade name of natural potassium chloride used as a fertilizer, as in potasse d'Alsace.^[5][12]
4. (Africa) A salt for cooking made from the ashes of wood or banana peel.^[3]

Word family

• potasser
• potassé
• potassique

Related words

• potassium
• pot
• Dutch potasch
• English potash

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)