sagette

Forms

sagette f (plural sagettes)^[1] Old French seete, saete and saiete;^[2][3][4] Middle French saiette.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French saiette, inherited from Latin sagitta (“arrow”), refashioned after the Latin word.^[2][5][4][1] The Old French form was saiete or seete, found from about 1140.^[2][3] The TLFi dates the learned remodelling to the 16th century, while Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert place it in the 15th.^[2][5][4]

Cognate with Italian saetta and Spanish saeta.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The form sagette is first recorded in 1541 in Clément Marot's Psalms, meaning “arrow”.^[2] The Old French sëete is found about 1140 in Gaimar's Estoire des Engleis.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The older form saiette lasted until the early 17th century, when Nicot still recorded it (1606).^[2] In 1611 Cotgrave used sagette for the water plant also called sagittaire.^[2][3] Already old in the classical period, the word was used for comic effect, as in La Fontaine's line on a wolf killed by an arrow: fait de la sagette un nouveau mort.^[3] It remains archaic and literary, usually with a playful tone.^[2][1]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – Old French sëete in Gaimar.^[2]
• 1541 – Sagette in Clément Marot's Psalms.^[2]
• 1606 – Nicot still records saiette.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the plant name.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, literary, humorous) An arrow.^[2][6][1]
2. (botany) The arrowhead, a water plant also called sagittaire.^[6][3][2]

Related words

• Latin sagitta

References

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