val

Forms

val m (plural vaux /vals)^[1] Plural vaux or vals.^[2][3][1] Old French val, plural vaus.^[1][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French val, inherited from Latin vallis (“valley”).^[5][1][6] The Latin noun was feminine; the French word has been masculine from the beginning, except in place names such as Laval, probably under the influence of mont, with which it is often paired.^[7][5][2] Rey connects the Latin word probably with the family of volvō (“to roll”).^[8]

Cognate with Italian valle, Old Occitan val, Catalan vall and Spanish valle;^[4][7] the masculine gender is also found in Old Occitan and in the Iberian languages.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has Halt sunt li pui e li val tenebrus “high are the hills and dark the valleys”, and the feminine in the place name Val Penuse.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Latin sense, but by the 17th century it belonged to poetic vocabulary, as Richelet noted in 1680.^[8] It survives in place names such as le Val de Loire and le Val d’Aoste, French departments such as Val-d'Oise and Val-de-Marne, and Val-d'Or in Quebec.^[8][3] Littré records that the Académie admitted val only in proper names, and that Marmontel protested.^[4]

The phrase à val “downhill” (about 1150) gave the adverb aval, and with the ⟨l⟩ vocalized à vau de (1564) and mettre à vau de route “to rout” (1586).^[8][5] Only à vau-l’eau “downstream” (1552, Rabelais) has survived, with its figurative aller à vau-l’eau “to go to rack and ruin” (1676).^[8][7] Par monts et par vaux dates from the 15th century.^[7] English vale (early 14th century) comes from Old French val.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Val in the Chanson de Roland.^[5]
• c. 1150 – A val “downhill” in the Roman de Thèbes.^[5][8]
• early 14th century – English vale is recorded.^[9]
• 15th century – Par monts et par vaux is first found.^[7]
• 1444 – A val la ville “down through the town”.^[5]
• 1552 – Rabelais writes à vau l’eau.^[8][7]
• 1559 – Amyot writes courir a val de la montagne.^[5]
• 1676 – Aller à vau-l’eau “to go to ruin”.^[8]
• 1680 – Richelet marks the word as poetic.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary, dated) A small valley, a vale: un val ombragé.^[3][5][10]
2. In place names: le Val de Loire, les Vaux-de-Cernay.^[3][10]
3. Par monts et par vaux: all over the place, far and wide.^[3][7]
4. À val: following the slope downhill.^[3][8]

Word family

• vallée
• aval
• avaler
• dévaler

Related words

• mont
• Latin vallis
• English vale

Usage notes

The plural is vaux or vals;^[2][4] Littré gives only vaux.^[2][4] A separate word VAL (about 1980) is an acronym of véhicule automatique léger, a driverless urban light-rail system.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 136b
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse