turelure

Forms

turelure f (plural turelures)^[2] Old French tureleure, teureleure (13th century), and a variant turlure (1729).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is an onomatopoeia imitating the sound of a musical instrument, used as a refrain word in songs.^[2][4][3] Compare tirelire and turlututu.^[2][4] The FEW derives it from an onomatopoeic stem ⟨lur-⟩.^[2][5]

Pierre Guiraud saw a meaningful base in it as well: a compound of loure “a large bagpipe, flageolet”, which Wartburg traces to a Latin word for a wineskin, and of a first element that might be Latin torus (“swelling”).^[2][4][1] Rey calls this explanation ingenious but very hypothetical.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 13th-century Pastourelles tureleure and teureleure are refrain words: Robin tureleure Robinet.^[2]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 14th century the word named a bagpipe: Jean Cuvelier's chronicle of Bertrand du Guesclin speaks of a horn “which is called turelure”.^[2][4][3] From the refrain came the phrase c'est la même turlure (Piron, 1729), then c'est toujours la même turelure (Trévoux, 1771), “it is always the same thing”.^[2][4][6] Littré knew the word only in this phrase.^[3] The noun alone later took the sense of a tune repeated over and over, like rengaine.^[4][2] The phrase is now dated, but still used in Quebec.^[2]

Timeline

• 1200s – Tureleure is a refrain word in the Pastourelles.^[2]
• late 14th century – Jean Cuvelier uses it for a bagpipe.^[2][4]
• 1729 – Piron writes c'est la même turlure.^[2][6]
• 1771 – The Trévoux dictionary records c'est toujours la même turelure.^[2][4]
• 1903 – Huysmans uses the plural turelures for hackneyed tunes.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. (popular music, dated) A refrain word in popular songs.^[2][7]

Noun

1. (familiar) A tune or saying repeated over and over, a rengaine.^[2][1][7]
2. C'est toujours la même turelure (dated or Quebec): it is always the same thing.^[2][3]

Related words

• turlututu
• tirelire
• turlurette
• tourlourou
• loure

Usage notes

The verb turelurer “to warble”, of larks, is a one-off coinage of Arnoux (1919).^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 464a
6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
7. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org