soupe

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sup/^[1]

Forms

soupe f (plural soupes)^[1] Old French soppe, sope (mid-12th century); soupe from about 1195.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sope, inherited from Late Latin suppa (“sopped bread”) (about 500),^[2][3][1][5] which also gave Italian zuppa and Spanish sopa.^[2][6] Suppa is of Germanic origin according to Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and Wiktionary, from Proto-West Germanic *suppā, related to Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐍀𐍉𐌽 (supōn, “to season”), Dutch sopen (“to dip”) and English sop;^[7][4][1][8] Wiktionary gives Proto-Germanic *supô.^[1] Guiraud's derivation from Latin suppus (“lying on one's back”), the slice of bread lying flat in the bowl, is not supported.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first sense (mid-12th century) is a slice of bread on which broth, milk or wine was poured,^[2][9][7] as in taillier des soupes (about 1260).^[9]

Semantic evolution

From the bread the name passed to the broth or stew thickened with bread or other solid food (soupe ès pois, 1310–1340), the modern sense.^[9][7] The old sense survives in phrases no longer understood literally: tailler la soupe, tremper la soupe (1664) and trempé comme une soupe “soaked through” (1783).^[9][2]

The soup became a symbol of plain, solid food (Molière, 1672) and of one's living: soupe populaire “soup kitchen” (1913), soldiers' à la soupe! “come and eat!”.^[9][10] Soupe au lait “quick-tempered”, like milk boiling over, is from 1737, and être soupe au lait from 1919.^[9] The verb souper “to have supper” (about 1138) is derived from it.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 500 – Late Latin suppa.^[2][4]
• mid-12th century – Soppe, a slice of sopped bread.^[2][4]
• c. 1195 – The form soupe.^[2][3]
• 1310–1340 – Soup with bread or vegetables.^[9]
• 1664 – Tremper la soupe.^[9]
• 1737 – Soupe au lait “quick-tempered”.^[9]
• 1913 – Soupe populaire.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Soup, a broth with bread, vegetables or other solid food: soupe à l'oignon.^[10][11]
2. (familiar) A meal, food: à la soupe!.^[10][9]
3. Soupe populaire: a soup kitchen.^[10][9]
4. (dated) A slice of bread soaked in broth.^[10][9]
5. Soupe au lait (adjective): quick-tempered.^[10][9]

Word family

• souper
• soupière

Related words

• English soup
• English sop

Usage notes

Trempé comme une soupe “soaked to the skin” keeps the old sense of a slice of bread soaked in broth.^[10][9]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 284b
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette