taie

Forms

taie f (plural taies)^[1] Old French teie (12th century) and toie (13th century); taie is found from the early 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French teie, inherited from Latin thēca (“case, sheath”), from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “box, chest, sheath”).^[5][2][1][6] In popular Latin the word came to name various kinds of covering, hence the cloth case of a pillow and then the film over the eye.^[7] Rey connects the Greek noun with the root of Ancient Greek τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”).^[2]

Littré compares Walloon tîk “pillowcase”;^[8] other Romance outcomes have other senses, as Romanian teacă “sheath, pod”.^[7] It is a doublet of the learned thèque.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1140 the Voyage de Charlemagne describes the emperor seated on a cushion whose teie was of a costly fabric, the word naming the cloth case of the cushion.^[5][8] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has an earlier record, dated 1086, with the sense “pillowcase, cover for a pillow or cushion”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The form toie d'oreillier “pillowcase” is found about 1200 in Jean Renart.^[5] In the first quarter of the 13th century the Renclus de Molliens uses toie figuratively for a film covering the eye, and by about 1320 the word was a term for an opaque spot on the cornée.^[5][2][4] In the 16th century it was also used of various membranes and envelopes of the body.^[2][8]

Littré condemned the popular confusion une tête d'oreiller.^[8] The figurative avoir une taie sur l'œil means to be blinded by prejudice.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – Teie “cushion cover” appears in the Voyage de Charlemagne.^[5]
• c. 1200 – Toie d'oreillier appears in Jean Renart's Escoufle.^[5]
• early 13th century – The Renclus de Molliens uses toie figuratively of a film over the eye.^[5]
• c. 1320 – Toie names an opaque spot on the cornea, in the Roman de Fauvel.^[4][2]
• early 14th century – The spelling taie appears.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cloth case that covers a pillow or bolster: taie d'oreiller “pillowcase”.^[10][5]
2. (ophthalmology) An opaque white spot on the cornea, a scar left by an injury or inflammation; a leucome.^[10][5]
3. (figurative, literary) Avoir une taie sur l'œil: to be blinded by prejudice.^[10]

Related words

• thèque
• Latin thēca

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 301b
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert