trémie

Forms

trémie f (plural trémies)^[1] Old French tremuie, Middle French tremuye and tremye; the modern form trémie appears in the 15th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French tremuie, inherited from Latin trimodia (“vessel holding three modii”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin word is a variant of trimodium, a container of three modii (bushel measures), a neuter plural taken as a feminine singular;^[6][3] it is formed from trēs (“three”) and modius (“measure, bushel”), the source of muid.^[2][7]

Cognate with Italian tramoggia, Catalan tramuja and Portuguese tremonha.^[8][6] Littré, following Scheler, thought the first part came from Latin tremō (“to tremble”), the hopper being a shaking bushel, because of forms such as Medieval Latin tremellum;^[8] the later dictionaries all derive it from the measure of three modii.^[2][3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as tremuie in Rashi's French glosses at the end of the 11th century, meaning a hopper.^[2][7] In the 13th century it is the funnel through which grain falls to the millstones.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Starting as a milling term, the word was applied from its shape to many technical objects:^[3] a feeder for pigeons or poultry (1680),^[2][3] the funnel-shaped pit dug by the antlion (1764),^[3] a hollow pyramid-shaped crystal of sea salt (1875)^[3][7] and a flannel filter used by mirror-makers for mercury (1872).^[3]

In building it names an open space left in a floor for a hearth, a staircase or a shaft, recorded in 1437 as tremuye.^[2][3] The 20th century added trémie d'aération, a ventilation shaft (1972),^[2] and in Belgian French trémie is also the stretch of road or track leading down into a tunnel or to another level.^[3]

Timeline

• late 11th century – Tremuie appears in Rashi's glosses.^[2][7]
• 1234–1240 – Used for the grain funnel of a mill.^[2]
• 1412–1413 – First use in building.^[2][3]
• 1437 – Tremuye names the space left in a floor for the hearth of a chimney.^[2][7]
• 1530 – Palsgrave writes tremye.^[2]
• 1538 – The spelling trémie is recorded by R. Estienne.^[7][4]
• 1680 – Richelet records the sense “feeder for pigeons”.^[2][7]
• 1764 – Used of the antlion's funnel.^[3]
• 1875 – Applied to a hollow crystal of sea salt.^[3][7]
• 1972 – Trémie d'aération is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hopper: a large funnel shaped like an upturned pyramid, into which grain, ore or other material is poured to be crushed, sorted or fed into a machine.^[9][2]
2. A feeder for birds or poultry.^[9][7]
3. (building) An opening left in a floor for a staircase, a chimney or a shaft.^[9][2]
4. (science) A hollow, pyramid-shaped crystal of sea salt.^[9][3]
5. (Belgium) A stretch of road leading down to a tunnel or to another level.^[3]

Related words

• muid
• Latin trimodia

References

1. ^ a b 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 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 f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 275b
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert