transatlantique

Forms

transatlantique (plural transatlantiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French trans- + atlantique.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The FEW treats it under Latin atlanticus.^[6] The TLFi compares the English word transatlantic, recorded since 1779, and the English clipping transat (1968).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1818, in Marguery's dictionary, as an adjective meaning “beyond the seas”, that is, on the far side of the Atlantic.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective soon described what crosses the ocean: paquebot transatlantique “transatlantic liner” is found in Michelet in 1845, and the shipping line founded as the Compagnie générale des paquebots transatlantiques (1846) became the Compagnie générale transatlantique, familiarly la Transat.^[2][3] Used as a masculine noun, transatlantique named the liner itself from 1870, in Jules Verne.^[2][3]

By metonymy it came to mean a folding canvas deck chair first used on the liners (1933), soon clipped to transat (1936).^[2][3] The single-handed sailing race across the Atlantic was called course transatlantique from 1960, hence the feminine noun la transat (1964).^[3][7] Rey notes that transat has become the usual form for every sense of the noun except the original “liner”, for which the short form (1912) is now archaic.^[3]

Timeline

• 1818 – First recorded, as an adjective “beyond the seas”, in Marguery's dictionary.^[2][4]
• 1823 – Boiste's dictionary records the adjective.^[7][8]
• 1845 – Paquebot transatlantique appears in Michelet's diary.^[2]
• 1846 – The Compagnie générale des paquebots transatlantiques is named.^[3]
• 1870 – Used as a masculine noun for a liner crossing the Atlantic, in Jules Verne.^[2][3]
• 1933 – The Larousse du XXe siècle records the sense “deck chair”.^[2][7]
• 1936 – The clipping transat is used for the deck chair.^[3]
• 1960 – Course transatlantique names the transatlantic sailing race.^[3][7]
• 1964 – La transat is recorded for the race.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Situated on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.^[2][7][5]
2. That crosses the Atlantic: paquebot transatlantique, câble transatlantique, lignes transatlantiques.^[9][2][10]
3. Course transatlantique: a sailing race across the Atlantic, also called transat.^[9][10]

Noun

1. (masculine) An ocean liner running between Europe and America.^[9][10][5]
2. (masculine, dated) A folding canvas deck chair, first used on the liners, now usually called a transat.^[2][11][9]

Word family

• transat

Related words

• atlantique
• English transatlantic

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 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. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 668a
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)