talon

Forms

talon m (plural talons)^[1] Old French talun (about 1155), talon from about 1175;^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman also talone, taloun.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French talon, inherited from Vulgar Latin *talō (“heel”), an altered form of Latin talus (“ankle bone, ankle, heel”).^[5][2][6] The Vulgar Latin form is recorded in a 10th-century gloss.^[5] The Classical word first meant the knucklebone of certain animals, used in the game of knucklebones, and in man the astragalus, then the ankle and the back of the foot, where it competed with Latin calx.^[2][5] Its origin is uncertain: it has been compared with Irish sal and Welsh sawdl (“heel”).^[2]

Cognate with Italian tallone, Occitan talo, Catalan taló, Spanish talón and Portuguese talão.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as talun in Wace's Brut (1155), of the heel of a person.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the earliest texts the word names the back of the foot, and it entered phrases such as torner le talon “to go away” (about 1200), monstrer les talons “to flee” (about 1330), être sur les talons de quelqu'un “to follow closely” (16th century) and talon d'Achille “weak point”.^[5][2][9] It named the back of a stag's hoof and the hind toe of a hawk in the 13th century.^[5]

On footwear it was the piece of leather covering the heel (1530), then the raised piece under the back of a shoe (1680), whence talons hauts and talons aiguilles;^[5][2] talon rouge “elegant nobleman” (1793) comes from the red-heeled shoes the nobility wore.^[5][2] From the 16th and 17th centuries, by likeness of position, it named the lower part of a rudder (1573), the end of a ship's keel (1643), the part of a sword blade nearest the guard (1621) and a moulding (1676).^[5][2] As the end or remainder of something, it is the crust end of a loaf (1694), the cards left after dealing (1645) and the stub of a page that stays in a book (1835).^[5][2]

Timeline

• 1155 – Talun in Wace's Brut.^[5]
• c. 1175 – The form talon in Chrétien de Troyes.^[9][2]
• c. 1200 – Torner le talon “to go away” in the Roman de Renart.^[5]
• c. 1330 – Monstrer les talons “to flee” in Girart de Roussillon.^[5][9]
• 1530 – Palsgrave uses it for the part of a shoe or stocking that covers the heel.^[9][2]
• 1573 – The lower part of a rudder.^[5]
• 1645 – The cards left after dealing.^[5]
• 1680 – Richelet records the heel of a shoe.^[5]
• 1694 – The Académie records talon d'un pain.^[5]
• 1835 – Talon de souche “counterfoil” in the Académie.^[5]
• 1876 – Larousse records le talon d'Achille.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The heel, the back part of the human foot.^[10][5]
2. Être sur les talons de quelqu'un: to follow someone closely;^[10][9] tourner les talons: to turn and leave.^[10][9]
3. Talon d'Achille: someone's only weak point, an Achilles' heel.^[10][9]
4. The part of a sock or stocking that covers the heel.^[10]
5. The heel of a shoe: talons hauts, talons aiguilles.^[10][1]
6. The lower or back end of various objects: of a ship's keel, a knife blade, a bow, a ski.^[10][5]
7. The crust end of a loaf or of a cheese.^[10][5]
8. (card games) The stock, the cards left after dealing.^[10][5]
9. The counterfoil or stub of a cheque or receipt.^[10][2]
10. (architecture) An ogee moulding.^[10][5]

Word family

• talonneur
• talonner
• talonnière
• talonnette

Related words

• Latin talus

Usage notes

Avoir l'estomac dans les talons “to be starving” is recorded from 1864.^[9][10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert