trente
Pronunciation
- IPA: /tʁɑ̃t/[1]
Forms
trente (invariable)[1][2] Old French trenta (about 980), trente (about 1050).[3][4]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French trente, inherited from Vulgar Latin *trinta, a contraction of Latin trīgintā (“thirty”),[5][3][6][7] itself formed on trēs (“three”).[3][8] Wiktionary traces the Latin numeral to Proto-Indo-European *tri(d)ḱomt (“thirty”).[1] Rey notes that the word is found in all the Romance languages except Romanian.[3]
Cognate with Italian trenta, Old Occitan trenta, Catalan trenta, Spanish treinta and Portuguese trinta.[9][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Passion of Clermont (about 980) has trenta, and the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) Trent' e quatre anz ad si sun cors penét, “for thirty-four years he so mortified his body”.[5][3]
Semantic evolution
Trente-six is used familiarly for an indefinite number (1306), as in voir trente-six chandelles “to see stars” (1828) and tous les trente-six du mois “once in a blue moon” (1831).[3] As a noun it names the number (1463) and enters card-game names: trente-et-un (1464), trente-et-quarante (1648).[3] Se mettre sur son trente et un “to put on one's best clothes” dates from 1833; the variants sur son trente-deux (1834) and trente-six (1867) tell against anecdotal explanations, and Rey suggests an allusion to the day beyond an ordinary month of thirty.[3]
La guerre de Trente Ans, the German war of 1618–1648, is so named in 1750.[3] Since 1872 the cardinal has also been used as an ordinal (page trente).[3][4][10] In tennis Richelet (1680) records it as half of a game of four points.[4] trentaine and trentième date from the 12th century, trentenaire from 1495.[6]
Timeline
- c. 980 – Trenta in the Passion.[3]
- c. 1050 – Trente in the Vie de saint Alexis.[5]
- 1306 – Trente-six for an indefinite number.[3]
- 1464 – The card game trente-et-un.[3]
- 1680 – A tennis score (Richelet).[4]
- 1750 – La guerre de Trente Ans.[3]
- 1828 – Voir trente-six chandelles.[3]
- 1833 – Se mettre sur son trente et un.[3]
- 1872 – As an ordinal.[3]
Meanings
Numeral
- Thirty: Septembre a trente jours, la guerre de Trente Ans.[2][1]
- (ordinal) Thirtieth: page trente.[4][3]
Noun
- The number thirty; the thirtieth day of the month.[4]
- (tennis) Thirty.[4]
- Se mettre sur son trente et un: to dress up to the nines.[3]
- Trente-six (familiar): umpteen, voir trente-six chandelles, to see stars.[3]
Word family
- trentaine
- trentième
- trentenaire
Related words
- trois
- Latin triginta
Usage notes
Trente is also the French name of the Italian city of Trento.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c 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
- ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 270b
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF