tournée

Forms

tournée f (plural tournées)^[1] Old French tornee; the spelling tournée is found from 1395.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French tourner, the feminine of its past participle used as a noun.^[2][3][4] The verb is from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1225 Old French tornee is recorded in two senses: a hoe for breaking up the soil, in Péan Gatineau's Vie de saint Martin, and “retreat, flight” in the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense “retreat” is found only in Old French, while the hoe lived on until the 19th century.^[2][6] The word was long used for “exchange” (13th century) and in the general sense “journey” (1226), later “short walk” (1596).^[6][7] It then became specialized for a business or official round, first that of an official (1680),^[6][2] and for the tour of a theatre company (1863, Gautier).^[2][6]

Par tournées “in turn” (1538) has gone out of use, but the idea of taking turns survives in the familiar tournée for a round of drinks paid for by one person (1828).^[6][2] A popular sense “thrashing” is recorded from 1790,^[2] and the word also has technical uses, as in fishing (1765).^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1225 – Tornee is recorded for a hoe and for a retreat.^[2]
• 1226 – It is used in the general sense of a journey.^[6]
• 1395 – The spelling tournée appears.^[2][3]
• 1549 – Par tournees “in turn” is recorded by Estienne.^[2]
• 1594 – The Satyre Ménippée has it for going here and there.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records it for people going about Paris on business.^[2]
• 1719 – Faire sa tournée “go to various places” appears in La Motte.^[2]
• 1790 – It means a thrashing.^[2][3]
• 1828 – Une tournée de vin blanc “a round of white wine” is recorded.^[2]
• 1863 – Gautier writes of provincial actors en tournée.^[2][6]
• 1876 – The sense “hoe” is last recorded, by Larousse.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A round or trip with a fixed route and set stops, made for work or in an official capacity: tournée d'inspection.^[8][9]
2. A tour by a theatre company, a singer or other performers: en tournée.^[8][2]
3. A round of visits to places of the same kind;^[9][1] la tournée des grands-ducs, a round of the smart night spots.^[9][1]
4. (familiar) A round of drinks paid for by one person: c'est ma tournée.^[9][1]
5. (familiar) A thrashing, a beating.^[9][2]
6. (dated) A kind of hoe or pickaxe.^[2][3]

Related words

• tour³
• tourner

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 p q r s t u 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 d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)