semence

Forms

semence f (plural semences)^[1] Old French and Anglo-Norman semance, semenche and semenz.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French semence, inherited from Late Latin sēmentia (“sowing”), a neuter plural taken as a feminine singular, of sēmentium, a late remaking of classical Latin sēmentis (“sowing, time of sowing”).^[3][4][5][6] The classical noun is derived from sēmen (“seed”).^[5][1][7] The Late Latin noun is recorded in Pseudo-Augustine and in a capitulary of 795.^[3] Rey's DHLF instead calls the French word borrowed from Late Latin (about 1130).^[7] The classical noun itself gave Old Occitan semens (1218).^[7]

Cognate with Italian semenza, Romanian sămânță and semensa.^[8][9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134), meaning sperm, in a passage on the weasel.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the first half of the 12th century the Psautier de Cambridge uses it in the biblical sense “offspring, posterity”.^[3][7] The sense “seed sown or to be sown” appears in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174), and “seeds of a plant” about 1205 in the Roman de Renart.^[3] The image of sowing was used early: Chrétien de Troyes opens his Perceval with Crestïens seme e fet semance D'un romans (“Chrétien sows and makes a sowing of a romance”).^[3]

Figuratively it meant a cause whose effects appear later (1538, Estienne), close to germe, and in d'Aubigné (1616) an occasion or source.^[3][7] It also named the act of sowing (13th century, then 1380) and the sowing season (1611), a sense still alive in African French; in several rural regions it means seed potatoes.^[7]

With the idea of smallness, semence de perles (1418) named very small pearls, then (1803) tiny diamonds; ornamental motifs scattered over a fabric are recorded from 1421, and Boiste (1803) has the sense “small nails”.^[7][3] In old pharmacy Littré lists the quatre semences chaudes and froides, groups of seeds used as remedies.^[9]

Timeline

• 1121–1134 – Philippe de Thaon uses it for sperm.^[3]
• first half of the 12th century – The Psautier de Cambridge has the sense “offspring”.^[3]
• 1160–1174 – Wace uses it for seed for sowing.^[3]
• c. 1205 – The Roman de Renart uses it for the seeds of a plant.^[3]
• 1418 – Semence de perles “very small pearls” is recorded.^[3][7]
• 1538 – Estienne records the figurative sense “cause, origin”.^[3]
• 1803 – Boiste records the sense “small nails”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A seed, or any part of a plant that can grow into a new one, especially seed for sowing or planting.^[10][11][12]
2. (figurative, literary) A germ or source from which something grows: les semences de la discorde.^[10][11]
3. Semen, seminal fluid.^[10][12][11]
4. A short tack with a flat head, used by upholsterers and saddlers.^[11][12]
5. Semence de perles: a set of very small pearls.^[11][10]

Word family

• ensemencement
• ensemencer
• semenceau
• semencier

Related words

• disséminer
• inséminer
• semer
• séminal
• semis
• Latin sēmen

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 430a
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)