soyeux

Forms

soyeux (feminine soyeuse, masculine plural soyeux, feminine plural soyeuses)^[1] Middle French soieux (late 14th century), sayeux (1488), seeux (1628).^[2][3]

Etymology

The TLFi gives it two sources.^[2] The oldest sense, “covered with bristles” (of a pig), is inherited from Latin saetōsus (“bristly”), from saeta (“bristle”).^[2][1] The sense “of silk” is a new formation from French soie + -eux.^[2][4] It replaced Old French seiet “hairy”, found in the Chanson de Roland.^[2][4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the late 14th century (about 1380, in the Aalma glossary) as soieux, describing a pig covered with bristles.^[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense “of silk, relating to silk” appears in 1488 (sayeux) and in the form soyeux in 1549 (Robert Estienne).^[2][4][5] By extension it meant from 1690 “soft and shiny like silk”; since 1761 it has been applied to what recalls a silk fabric.^[4][5]

As a noun, soyeux named a salesman in the silk department of a shop (1834), a word used under Louis-Philippe and kept in slang until 1907.^[2][4][6] At Lyon it named a silk manufacturer, a regional use that spread at the end of the 19th century (1897, Daudet).^[2][4]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – Soieux is used of a pig covered with bristles.^[5][7]
• 1488 – Sayeux “of silk” appears in the Annales de Bretagne.^[2]
• 1549 – Robert Estienne records the spelling soyeux.^[5][3]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “soft and shiny like silk”.^[5][8]
• 1834 – The noun names a salesman of silks.^[2][6]
• 1897 – Daudet uses it for a Lyon silk manufacturer.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Made of silk, relating to soie.^[8][9]
2. silky, soft and shiny like silk: une étoffe soyeuse.^[8][1]
3. (natural history) Covered with many soft, shiny hairs.^[9]

Noun

1. (Lyon) A manufacturer of silks.^[8][2]

Related words

• soie
• soierie
• Latin saeta

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette