réglisse

Forms

réglisse f (plural réglisses)^[1] Old French licorece, licorice, ricolice, ricolisse, requelice and regulisse; the form reglisse appears about 1393.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French reglisse, an altered form of ricolice, whose new first syllable probably comes from règle, since the root was sold in long sticks.^[2][3][5][6] This form is a metathesis of licorece, which the TLFi treats as borrowed from Late Latin liquiritia.^[2][6] The Late Latin word is an alteration, under the influence of liquor (“liquid”), of Latin glycyrrhiza, from Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα (glukúrrhiza, “sweet root”), a compound of γλυκύς (glukús, “sweet”) and ῥίζα (rhíza, “root”).^[2][3][1] Wiktionary instead presents the Old French word as inherited from the Late Latin form.^[1]

Cognate with Occitan regulecia, Spanish regaliz, Portuguese regaliz and Italian regolizia, with Picard régoliche and Walloon rekouliss;^[7] Littré notes that the Romance languages swapped the ⟨l⟩ and ⟨r⟩ of the Latin word.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as licorece in the Vie de saint Gilles, dated about 1180 by the TLFi and about 1138 by the GLLF and the DHLF, naming the plant and its sweet root.^[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

In medieval French the word named the root of the plant, used in medicine and in cooling drinks;^[3][4] jus de ricolisse “liquorice juice” is recorded in 1256, and bâton de réglisse “liquorice stick” about 1560.^[3][4] Among its many deformations, reygalisse (16th century) reinterpreted the word as rai de Galice “root from Galicia”, Galicia having long been the main supplier;^[3][5] rai de Galice was still used in Switzerland in the 20th century.^[3][5]

From 1850 the word also entered the names of other plants compared to liquorice, such as réglisse d'Amérique, and réglisse sauvage in 1870.^[2][3] As the plant itself was forgotten by most speakers, modern French uses the word mainly for the black confection made from its root.^[3] English licorice (about 1200) comes from the Anglo-Norman form lycoryc and the Old French licorece.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Licorece appears in the Vie de saint Gilles (about 1138 according to the GLLF and the DHLF).^[2][4][3]
• c. 1200 – The metathesized form ricolice is found in Aye d'Avignon.^[2]
• 1256 – Jus de ricolisse is recorded.^[3][4]
• 1260 – Étienne Boileau's Livre des métiers writes regulisse.^[2]
• c. 1393 – The form reglisse appears in the Ménagier de Paris.^[2]
• 16th century – The folk form reygalisse is recorded.^[3][5]
• c. 1560 – Bâton de réglisse is first found.^[3]
• 1835 – Purists condemn the masculine use of the word.^[2][3]
• 1850 – Réglisse d'Amérique is recorded as a plant name.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (feminine) Liquorice, a leguminous plant of southern Europe with a long sweet rhizome.^[9][2][10]
2. The root and rhizome of this plant, used in pharmacy and in drinks: bois de réglisse.^[9][10]
3. (masculine or feminine) A black confection made from the extract of the root: pâte de réglisse, un bâton de réglisse, elle mâchait un réglisse.^[9][11][3]
4. (botany) In the names of other plants: réglisse d'Amérique, réglisse de montagne.^[9][2]

Related words

• liqueur
• glucose
• rhizome
• Latin glycyrrhiza
• English licorice

Usage notes

The word is feminine for the plant; for the sweet, the masculine is common in everyday use (du réglisse) although purists condemned it as early as 1835.^[2][3][9]

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 n o 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 n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)