racher

Forms

racher (transitive verb)^[1][2]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *rasicō (“to scrape”), a derivative of rāsus, the past participle of rādō (“to shave, scrape”).^[1][3][2][4] The TLFi thinks the modern technical verb came into French through a dialect, perhaps Franco-Provençal, which had the same senses;^[1][5][6] Middle French already had the participle raché (“trimmed with”) (1388 to 1551) and the verb racher (“to chase metal”) (1464 to 1532).^[1][5][6] Littré derived it from the noun rache.^[7]

Cognate with Catalan rascar, Spanish rascar and Portuguese rascar (“to scrape”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first found in Middle French accounts of 1388: the GLLF and the Grand Robert take it there as “to chase, engrave (metal)”, while the TLFi reads the 1388 participle as “trimmed with”, of a garment or fabric, and dates the sense of chasing metal from 1464.^[2][3][1] The DMF quotes raché “chased” of a piece of goldsmith's work in the accounts of King René (1477).^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sense of chasing metal is recorded until 1532.^[1] In embroidery the verb meant to finish a piece with small symmetrical stitches, from Saint-Aubin's treatise on the embroiderer's art (1771) to the end of the 19th century.^[1] The modern technical sense, to mark out on a piece of timber with compasses the divisions needed to cut it, is found in 1831;^[1] the GLLF and the Grand Robert date it from the Académie's dictionary of 1836.^[2][3]

The derivative rachée (1844), a regional word of Champagne and the Morvan, names a cut stump that sends out new shoots; it comes from the older and dialect sense “to scrape”.^[1]

Timeline

• 1388 – Raché appears in Middle French accounts.^[1][2][3]
• 1464 – It is used for chasing metal, a sense found until 1532.^[1]
• 1771 – Saint-Aubin uses it in embroidery.^[1]
• 1831 – The carpenter's sense is recorded.^[1]
• 1836 – The Académie records the word.^[2][3]
• 1844 – The derivative rachée appears in Sainte-Beuve.^[1]

Meanings

Verb

1. (technical) To trace with compasses on a piece of timber the divisions needed for cutting it; to mark with raches.^[1][7][2]
2. (sewing, dated) To finish a piece of embroidery with small symmetrical stitches.^[1][7]

Word family

• rachée

Related words

• rache
• raser
• Latin rādō

References

1. ^ 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
2. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 86a
5. ^ a b Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 89a
6. ^ a b c Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette