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tranchoir

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Etymology and origin of the French word tranchoir

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1206 cartulary of Philip Augustus More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
French trancher,-oir

Forms

tranchoir m (plural tranchoirs)[1] Old French trancheor (1206) and trancheoir, Middle French tranchouoir (1393).[2] The form trenchoir is found in 1300 and tranchoir in 1341.[3]

Etymology

It is formed from French trancher + -oir.[2][4][5][6] Bloch and Wartburg derive the verb trancher (Old French trenchier) probably from Vulgar Latin *trinicō (“to cut in three”), built on Latin trīnī (“three each”).[7]

The Old French word, through the Anglo-Norman form trenchour, gave English trencher about 1300.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1206, as trancheor, in a cartulary of Philip Augustus, for a board or tablet on which things are cut.[2]

Semantic evolution

Early in the 13th century the Perlesvaus uses it for a cutting instrument, in trancheoirs d'acier “sharper than razors”,[2][9] and in 1314 Henri de Mondeville's surgery uses it for a kind of scalpel.[2][10]

At table it named both the board on which meat was carved and the dish on which it was served: an inventory of Charles V lists one with a gilded foot (1380), and silver ones are recorded in 1393.[2] From 1388 a tranchoir de pain was a large slice of coarse bread set on the board, on which meat was cut and served before plates came into use;[2] the TLFi quotes a historian of Saint Louis's time saying that these slices, soaked in sauce, were afterwards given to the poor.[2]

Later technical senses are a wooden palette holding lime that dyers put into the woad vat[6][2] and a small rush mat on which cheese is cut (1876).[3] In ichthyology it has named a fish since 1868.[2][11]

Timeline

  • 1206 – Trancheor “board on which things are cut” appears in a cartulary of Philip Augustus.[2]
  • Early 13th century – Used of a cutting instrument in the Perlesvaus.[2]
  • c. 1300 – English borrows the Anglo-Norman word as trencher.[8]
  • 1314 – Henri de Mondeville uses it for a kind of scalpel.[2]
  • 1341 – The spelling tranchoir is recorded.[3]
  • 1388 – Tranchoir de pain, a slice of bread used as a plate, is recorded.[2]
  • 1868 – First used in ichthyology.[2]
  • 1876 – Recorded for a small mat on which cheese is cut.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A board on which meat is cut, a cutting board; also a small board on which cheese is cut.[5][12][13]
  2. A broad cutting blade, a chopper.[5][13][2]
  3. (historical) A platter on which carved meat was presented, or a thick slice of bread used as a plate in the Middle Ages.[2][3]
  4. (dyeing) A wooden palette holding a handful of lime, put into the woad vat.[2][6]
  5. (ichthyology) A surgeonfish.[1][2]
  • tranche
  • trancher
  • tranchet
  • tranchant
  • tailloir
  • English trencher

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 s 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. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner
  11. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  13. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Tranchoir.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/tranchoir. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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