tinter

Forms

tinter^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin tinnitō (“to twitter, chirp”), a frequentative of tinniō (“to ring, give a clear sound”).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary gives the Late Latin verb as a Vulgar Latin reconstruction, *tinnitō.^[1] Bloch and Wartburg note that the regular outcome would have been a form like the one seen in retentir; before the vowel was nasalized, /i/ replaced /e/ to make the word more expressive.^[5] Littré likewise points to an older form tentir, which survives in that verb.^[6]

Rey calls the Latin verb expressive and compares Slavic words for noise and murmuring, without finding a clear Indo-European series.^[4] Bloch and Wartburg find the verb only in French.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the negative phrase ne tinter mot “not to say a word” in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100).^[2][4] Littré quotes a 12th-century life of Thomas Becket, in which none of the bishops would un mot tinter for the king.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Until Middle French the verb was also a verb of speech meaning “to say” (about 1310), and tinter contre someone meant “to protest” (1412), uses that go back to senses of the Latin.^[4] The modern sense of a bell giving a clear sound when struck dates from the 12th century; the TLFi defines it as the slow strokes of a bell whose clapper hits only one side.^[2][4] From 1180–90 it was used of anything that rings when struck.^[2]

The transitive use “to ring (a bell)” is recorded in 1496, which led to tinter la messe, tinter le sermon “to announce mass or the sermon by ringing” (1680).^[2][4] From the 16th century the verb was said of the ears giving the sensation of a ringing bell (Ronsard, 1584), and Madame de Sévigné wrote in 1677 that the ears ring when people are talking about someone.^[2][4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Ne tinter mot “not to say a word” appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• 12th century – First used of a bell sounding slowly.^[2][4]
• 1180–90 – Hue de Rotelande uses it for something ringing when struck, in Ipomedon.^[2]
• c. 1310 – Used as a verb of speech meaning “to say”.^[4]
• 1412 – Tinter contre someone means “to protest”.^[4]
• 1490 – The noun tintement is recorded.^[5][4]
• 1496 – Tinter une cloche “to ring a bell” is recorded.^[2]
• 1584 – Ronsard uses it of the ears ringing.^[2]
• 1677 – Madame de Sévigné writes of the ears ringing when people talk about someone.^[2][4]
• 1680 – Richelet records tinter la messe.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of a bell: to sound with slow, clear strokes.^[7][2]
2. (intransitive) To make a clear, high ringing sound; to jingle or chime.^[7][1]
3. (intransitive) Of the ears: to ring; figuratively, les oreilles ont dû vous tinter, people must have been talking about you.^[7][1][4]
4. (transitive) To ring (a bell) so that the clapper strikes one side, and to announce (a service) by ringing.^[6][2]

Word family

• tintement
• tintouin
• tintamarre

Related words

• retentir
• Latin tinniō

Usage notes

The Grand Robert and the GLLF have a separate nautical verb tinter (1835), formed on tin “block”: to set a ship's keel on blocks.^[8][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 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
3. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 346a
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse