Etymologically
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royaume

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁwa.jom/[1]
  • IPA: /ʁwa.jɔm/[1]

Forms

royaume m (plural royaumes)[1] Old French reialme (Roland), roiaume (about 1196), royaume from the 13th century; also reiame, roiame to the mid-14th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French reiame, altered by crossing with royal;[3][2][5][6] reiame was understood as a derivative of Latin rēx (“king”), but is in fact inherited from Latin regimen (“direction, government”),[2][5][3][7] from regō (“to rule”),[6] which by a learned route gave régime.[2] Old Occitan regeme beside reialme supports this.[2][5][3] Littré instead supposed a form derived from Latin rēgālis (“royal”).[8]

Italian reame, Old Spanish realme and English realm come from Gallo-Romance.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has reialme for a state ruled by a king: Charlemagne says he will hold his realm in great grief.[3][8]

Semantic evolution

In religious language Dieu roiaume meant paradise (Rutebeuf, 1266), whence le royaume des cieux, royaume de Dieu.[3][4] Poetic and figurative uses include le royaume des lis (France), le royaume des morts and the phrase ne pas le faire pour un royaume “not for anything” (late 17th century;[2] Froissart already has “pas pour le royalme de Bavière”).[2][4] The Royaume-Uni is the United Kingdom.[2][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Reialme (Roland).[3][4]
  • c. 1196 – Roiaume.[2][4]
  • c. 1200 – Roiame in Jean Renart.[3]
  • 1266 – Dieu roiaume “paradise”.[3]
  • 13th century – Royaume.[2][4]
  • mid-14th century – Reiame goes out of use.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A kingdom, a state ruled by a king or queen.[9][3]
  2. (religion) Le royaume de Dieu, des cieux: the kingdom of heaven.[9][4]
  3. (figurative) A domain where someone reigns: la cuisine est son royaume.[4][9]
  • roi
  • royal
  • régime
  • English realm

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 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 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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 209b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert