tricher

Forms

tricher^[1] Old French trichier and trechier; the spelling tricher is found from about 1265.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman also had trecher, trichir and trechir.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French trichier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *trīccō.^[3][2][6][7] The Vulgar Latin verb is an expressive variant, with the final consonant of the stem doubled, of Latin trīcor (“to make difficulties, quibble”),^[8][2] which comes from trīcae (“trifles, nonsense, troubles”), a familiar word recorded from Plautus that has no known etymology.^[2] The Romans linked it with Ancient Greek θρίξ (thríx, “hair”) or with the Apulian town of Trica;^[2] Rey suggests from extrīcō in Columella that it was first a rustic word for weeds.^[2]

Old French also had trechier.^[3] The short /i/ of the Vulgar Latin verb should have become /e/, as it did in that form, but it was kept or restored under the influence of the Latin verb, with which the verb long lived side by side.^[8][3][2]

Cognate with Italian treccare (“to deceive, cheat”) and Old Occitan trichar.^[3][8][9] Diez rejected the Latin source because of the vowel and took the word from Germanic, comparing Dutch trek (“pull, trick”);^[9] Littré answered that the Germanic origin cannot explain the /i/.^[9] Wiktionary also mentions a Germanic origin, from Middle High German trechen, comparing Middle Dutch trec (“stratagem, ruse”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Wace's Brut (1155) trichier is used without an object, meaning to act dishonestly or to defraud;^[3][8] the transitive sense “to deceive someone” follows in the Roman de Troie (about 1165).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The transitive use, tricher quelqu'un “to deceive someone”, lasted until the 19th century and has since gone.^[2][10] The verb narrowed to games: tricher quelqu'un at play is recorded by Richelet in 1680, and the intransitive “to break the rules of a game in order to win” by Furetière in 1690.^[3][4] More widely it means to behave in bad faith while pretending to respect a rule.^[2][10]

Without any moral judgement, the Académie recorded in 1835 the craft sense “to hide a flaw or lack in a piece of work”.^[3][2] Hugo used tricher une serrure for picking a lock (1862),^[3][11] and tricher sur “to cheat on (price, quantity)” is recorded in 1893.^[3]

Timeline

• 1155 – Trichier in Wace's Brut, “to act dishonestly”.^[3]
• c. 1165 – Transitive “to deceive someone” in the Roman de Troie.^[3]
• 1174–76 – The form trechier in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[3]
• c. 1265 – The spelling tricher in Jean de Meun.^[4][2]
• 1680 – “To cheat someone at play” (Richelet).^[3]
• 1690 – Intransitive “to cheat at a game” (Furetière).^[3]
• 1835 – The Académie records the craft sense “to disguise a flaw”.^[3]
• 1862 – Tricher une serrure “to pick a lock” in Hugo.^[3]
• 1893 – Tricher sur a value or quantity.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To cheat at a game, breaking its rules on the sly in order to win: il triche aux échecs.^[10][4]
2. To break a rule or custom while seeming to respect it: tricher aux examens, to cheat in exams, also tricher sur son âge, to lie about one's age.^[10]
3. To act in bad faith, to betray what one claims to serve: tricher avec quelqu'un.^[10][2]
4. To hide a flaw or lack in a piece of work by some artifice.^[10][3]
5. (transitive, obsolete) To deceive someone.^[3][10]

Word family

• triche
• tricherie
• tricheur

Related words

• intriguer
• Latin trīcae

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 260a
8. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF