pou

Forms

pou m (plural poux)^[1] Old French singular püil (about 1120), later peoil and pouil; the modern singular pou comes from the old plural forms poouz and pous.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pouil, inherited from Vulgar Latin pēduculus, an altered form of pēdīculus (“louse”), the diminutive of the old Latin word pēdis (“louse”).^[3][4][2][5] The Old French singular was püil, then peoil; the modern singular was taken from the plural forms poouz and pous, in which the final consonant had dropped before ⟨s⟩.^[3][2][6] Wiktionary compares the same development in genou.^[1] The old singular with ⟨il⟩ was still used by Montaigne.^[5]

Cognate with Italian pidocchio, Old Occitan pezolh, Catalan poll, Spanish piojo, Portuguese piolho and Romanian păduche.^[7][8] Rey notes that the name of the louse differs from one Indo-European language to another, and that a link with Latin pēdō (“to break wind”) has been suggested.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as püil in the Psautier de Cambridge (first half of the 12th century), meaning the louse of the scalp.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word has named the parasite of humans from the earliest texts, at first especially the head louse.^[2] The old homonymy between pouil “louse” and pouil “cock”, the word whose diminutive is poulet, explains the phrase fier comme un pou, which really meant “proud as a cock”.^[2] Familiar phrases followed: laid comme un pou (1798) and chercher des poux à la tête (1790), later dans la tête, “to pick a quarrel over trifles”.^[3][2]

By analogy, from 1558 the word named other small parasites of animals, plants and materials, as in pou aquatique (1690) and pou de bois (1694).^[3][2] Applied to a person, it was an insult for someone vile or very ugly (1873).^[2][3] Because of its small size, the engineer H. Mignet named his light private aeroplane the pou-du-ciel (1936).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – The singular püil appears in the Psautier de Cambridge.^[3][9]
• c. 1275 – Jean de Meun's Roman de la Rose has the plural poouz.^[3]
• c. 1393 – The plural spelling poux is recorded in the Ménagier.^[3][2]
• 1558 – Rondelet extends the word to a sea insect that torments fish.^[3]
• 1636 – Monet records the singular pou.^[9]
• 1694 – Poux de bois is recorded by Thomas Corneille.^[3]
• 1798 – The Académie records laid comme un pou.^[3][2]
• 1873 – Verlaine uses the word of a person.^[3]
• 1936 – Pou-du-ciel names a small aeroplane.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A louse, a small wingless insect living as a parasite on humans and sucking their blood.^[10][3]
2. A similar parasite of animals or plants, in names such as pou de bois.^[3][9]
3. Laid comme un pou: very ugly.^[11][10] Chercher des poux dans la tête (to someone): to pick a quarrel with someone over nothing.^[11][10]

Word family

• pouilleux
• épouiller

Related words

• pédiculaire
• Latin pēdīculus

Usage notes

The derivatives come from the old form pouil: pouilleux (1176–1181) and épouiller, earlier espoueiller (14th century).^[2] Littré notes that in Chifflet's time the word was still written pouil but pronounced pou.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 148a
5. ^ a b 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
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 c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)