trépied

Forms

trépied m (plural trépieds)^[1] Old French trepiez (plural, about 1150), trepez and trepiet;^[2][3][4] trepié in 1313 and trépied in 1549.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French trepiez,^[2][5] inherited from Latin tripes (“three-footed”),^{[2][5][6][7][1]} used as a noun for a three-legged vessel or piece of furniture,^[2][5] from tri- (“three”) and pēs (“foot”).^[2][5] Because the compound was still felt as one, the ⟨p⟩ was kept as if it began a word, and the stress fell on the second syllable.^[2][6]

Cognate with Walloon trepî and the Burgundian dialect form ⟨trepei⟩.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Charroi de Nîmes (about 1150) trepiez are three-legged cooking utensils, listed with cauldrons.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From the kitchen the word spread to any three-legged stand (1305) and to furniture carrying a vase (1353).^[2][5] In the Renaissance it entered learned language for the three-legged seat from which the Pythia gave Apollo's oracle at Delphi (1559, Amyot);^[2][5] archaeologists took up the Latin sense of a three-footed vase in 1636.^[5] Furetière records a three-legged wooden stool in 1690.^[2] Littré notes a figurative être sur le trépied “to speak with inspiration”.^[8] Today it is above all the stand of a camera or other instrument.^[9][1]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Trepiez “cooking tripods” in the Charroi de Nîmes.^[2]
• 1305 – A three-legged stand in general.^[2]
• 1353 – A piece of furniture supporting a vase.^[5][4]
• 1549 – Robert Estienne spells it trépied.^[4]
• 1559 – Amyot uses it for the seat of the Pythia at Delphi.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records a three-legged wooden seat.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tripod, a three-legged stand, especially for a camera: un trépied télescopique.^[9][1]
2. A three-legged metal stand for putting a cooking pot on the fire.^[9][8]
3. A three-legged piece of furniture, such as a guéridon or stool.^[9][2]
4. (antiquity) The three-legged seat on which the Pythia gave Apollo's oracles, also a three-footed vase.^[9][8]

Related words

• pied
• Latin tripes

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 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 292a
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert