pulmonaire

Forms

pulmonaire (plural pulmonaires)^[1] As the name of the plant it is a feminine noun, la pulmonaire.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin pulmōnārius (“of the lungs”), derived from pulmō (“lung”).^[3][4][5][1] The name of the plant, recorded first, is borrowed from Late Latin pulmōnāria, short for a phrase with rādīcula (“little root”) meaning “root good for the lung”.^[6][2][7][3] The ancients compared the livid spots on the leaves of the plant to those of the lung, and so believed it would help in diseases of that organ.^[3][4] The inherited word for the lung is poumon.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 15th century as the noun naming a plant, the lungwort, in the Grant herbier.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

After its start in botany, the adjective was taken into pathology in the 16th century (affection pulmonaire, 1585) and into anatomy in 1675, for the arteries and veins belonging to the lungs.^[4][3] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert date the adjective to 1572.^[5][6] It replaced the older adjective pulmonique (1537), as the noun pulmonie “lung disease” also went out of use.^[4]

Later it became the second element of anatomical and medical adjectives such as cardio-pulmonaire (1878) and broncho-pulmonaire.^[4] Congestion pulmonaire is recorded by the Larousse of 1869.^[7]

Timeline

• 15th century – The plant name appears in the Grant herbier.^[3][6]
• 1572 – Peletier du Mans uses the plant name.^[3][7]
• 1585 – Affection pulmonaire is recorded.^[3][4]
• 1675 – The adjective is used for the lung's arteries and veins.^[3][2]
• 1869 – Congestion pulmonaire is recorded.^[7]
• 1878 – The compound cardio-pulmonaire appears.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (anatomy) Pulmonary, belonging to the lungs: artère pulmonaire: L'artère pulmonaire conduit le sang vers les poumons.^[2][3][8]
2. (medicine) Affecting the lungs: congestion pulmonaire, tuberculose pulmonaire: Il souffre d'une infection pulmonaire.^[2][7]
3. (zoology) Having a lung.^[8]

Noun

1. (botany) Lungwort, a herbaceous plant of the borage family, with flowers pink at first and blue when mature, once used for lung diseases.^[2][3][1]

Related words

• poumon
• pulmonie
• pulmonique
• Latin pulmō

Usage notes

The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert treat the plant (pulmonaire 1, 15th century, from Late Latin pulmonaria) and the adjective (pulmonaire 2, 1572, from Latin pulmonarius) as two headwords; both go back to the same Latin adjective.^[6][2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette