rayon
French has two words rayon: the ray, formed from rai, and the honeycomb, from Old French ree, of Frankish origin; the second gave the senses “shelf” and “department of a shop”.[1][2][3][4]
rayon1 ray
Pronunciation
Forms
rayon m (plural rayons)[4]
Etymology
The ray is from French rai + -on, a derivative of the old word for a ray of light, from Latin radius (“staff, spoke, ray”).[5][1][4][6] Wiktionary notes that it is unrelated to the verb rayer.[4] Cognate with Italian raggio, Old Occitan rai, Catalan raig and Spanish rayo, which continue the Latin noun.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Mystère de l'Incarnation (1474) speaks of the reons du soleil, the sun's rays.[5]
Semantic evolution
In the 16th century the image of a ray of light was applied to a feeling, a favour or a quality (1547, Marguerite de Navarre) and to the eyes and gaze (1549, Ronsard).[5] From the Latin senses of radius came the spokes of a wheel (1538, Estienne), the radius of a circle (1639, Mersenne) and the radius of the forearm (1562, Paré).[5][8]
The Encyclopédie (1753) uses it for the direction in which light or heat travels;[5] rayons X and rayons Röntgen appear in 1896, after German X-Strahlen.[5] From the radius of a circle came the area it defines (1823) and rayon d'action, range (1890).[5]
Timeline
- 1474 – Reons du soleil.[5]
- 1538 – Estienne: the spokes of a wheel.[5]
- 1547 – Marguerite de Navarre: a ray of a feeling or favour.[5]
- 1562 – Paré: the radius bone.[5]
- 1639 – Mersenne: the radius of a circle.[5][9]
- 1896 – Rayons X.[5]
Meanings
Noun
- A ray or beam of light: un rayon de soleil.[2][4]
- (figurative) A glimmer: un rayon d'espoir.[5][2]
- (physics) The path of a radiation, rayons X, rayons gamma.[2][4]
- A spoke of a wheel.[4][2]
- (geometry) The radius of a circle or sphere.[4][2]
- A distance around a point; an area: dans un rayon de dix kilomètres, rayon d'action, range.[2][5]
Word family
- rayonner
- rayonnant
- rayonnement
rayon2 honeycomb; shelf
Pronunciation
Forms
rayon m (plural rayons)[4] Middle French royon (1429); rayon from 1538.[10][11]
Etymology
The honeycomb is derived from Old French ree (“honeycomb”) (about 1120), from Frankish *hrāta (“honeycomb”).[10][3][1][12] The Frankish word is inferred from Middle Dutch râta “virgin honey” and, from the Reichenau Glosses, which gloss Latin favus (“honeycomb”) with frata.[10][3] The Grand Robert notes that speakers now often connect this word with the ray's sense “shelf”.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
As royon (1429) it meant a pigeonhole or compartment, an analogical sense recorded before the proper sense, the honeycomb (rayon de miel, 1538, Estienne).[10][11][4]
Semantic evolution
In the 17th century it named the small square divisions of a merchant's cupboard (1690, Furetière), then any storage shelf (in Quebec in 1698, Diderot, 1747).[10][9] By metonymy it came to mean the counters of a shop given to one kind of goods (1841), the sense used by Zola in 1883.[10][11] The phrase c'est mon rayon, “it's my field”, very probably comes from this commercial use;[10][2] en connaître un rayon, to know a lot about something, is more abstract.[10][2]
Timeline
- c. 1120 – Old French ree “honeycomb”.[11][10]
- 1429 – Royon “compartment”.[10][11]
- 1538 – Rayon de miel in Estienne.[11][1]
- 1690 – Furetière: divisions of a merchant's cupboard.[10]
- 1698 – A shelf, in Quebec.[10]
- 1841 – A department of a shop.[10][4]
Meanings
Noun
- A honeycomb, the comb of wax cells built by bees.[2][4]
- A shelf: les rayons d'une bibliothèque.[2][11]
- A department of a large shop: le rayon des bagages, chef de rayon.[2][4]
- (familiar) C'est (pas) mon rayon: it's (not) my field, en connaître un rayon: to know a lot about something.[2][10]
Word family
- rayonnage
Related words
- rai
- radius
Usage notes
Rayonne, artificial silk (1930), was borrowed from English rayon, itself taken from the French word for a ray; pronounced as in English, it became feminine.[3] The Grand Robert gives a third rayon, a furrow or trench (16th century); Littré records a Berry rion, a plough furrow.[1][8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 21b
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ 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
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 237b