Etymologically
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travers

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tʁa.vɛʁ/[1]

Forms

travers m (invariable)[1] Old French traver (1080); travers from about 1150.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin trāversum, the neuter of Latin trānsversus (“lying across, oblique”) used as a noun, already common in adverbial phrases such as “in transversum” and “de transverso”.[2][4][5][6] “Trānsversus” is the past participle of trānsvertō (“to turn across”), from trāns- (“across”) and vertō (“to turn”).[2][5] Unlike French, Italian traverso and Spanish travieso are also adjectives.[2][4] transverse is a learned doublet.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has en traver, which the TLFi glosses “by a cross road” and the Grand Robert and Petit Robert “directly”: De Val-Fuït sunt venuz en travers.[7][3][8][9]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts it is found above all in phrases: en travers “right through” (Wace, 1160–1174) and “crosswise”, à travers (1160–1174), de travers (about 1155) and au travers de (about 1210).[7][2] De travers took on unfavourable senses: regarder quelqu'un de travers “with hostility” (about 1280), répondre de travers (about 1440), prendre tout de travers (1585) and avaler de travers (1850).[7][2] Old French phrases joining tort and travers gave à tort et à travers.[2]

As a noun it named a cross path (late 12th century, a sense passed to traverse), then a width (about 1389), the beam of a ship (1704) and, in butchery, travers de porc (1877).[2] The figurative sense, a foible or defect of character, appears in the 16th or 17th century (1637 in Rey).[2][4] Passer au travers “to escape justice” was police slang in 1897.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – En traver in the Chanson de Roland.[7]
  • c. 1155 – De travers, in Wace.[7]
  • 1160–1174 – À travers and en travers, in Wace.[7]
  • c. 1280 – Regarder quelqu'un de travers.[7]
  • 1368 – The derivative traversin “bolster”.[4]
  • 1637 – “A foible”.[2]
  • 1640 – À travers champs.[7]
  • 1850 – Avaler de travers in Labiche.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A foible, a quirk, a small defect: chacun a ses travers.[11][2]
  2. (dated) Breadth: un travers de doigt.[9][7]
  3. (butchery) Travers de porc: spare ribs.[11][2]
  4. (nautical) The beam of a ship: par le travers.[2]
  5. À travers, au travers de: through, across: à travers champs, voir à travers la vitre.[11][7]
  6. En travers (de): across, crosswise, se mettre en travers de: to stand in the way of.[12][8]
  7. De travers: askew; wrongly: avaler de travers, regarder quelqu'un de travers, aller de travers.[7][11]
  8. À tort et à travers: indiscriminately, passer au travers: to escape.[2][10]

Word family

  • traversin
  • traverser
  • traverse
  • transversal
  • Latin trānsversus

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 n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 222a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)