vautrer

Forms

vautrer^[1] Old French se vultrer (about 1180), se viutrer (late 12th century), se voutrer (about 1195–1200, used until the 18th century), voltrer (13th century); Middle French se vaultrer (1534) and veautrer (1538); vautrer from 1636.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French voutrer, inherited from Vulgar Latin *volūtulō (“to roll”), formed from volūtum, the supine of volvō (“to roll, turn”).^{[2][3][1][4][5]} The Vulgar Latin verb was later syncopated to *voltulare; the medieval forms viutrer and voitrer, still widespread in the dialects, come from a dissimilation of its two labial vowels.^[6] Bloch and Wartburg call the modern form a dialect form that won out in the 16th century;^[6] the spelling veautrer (1538) was drawn towards veau and competed with the modern form until the end of the 18th century.^[3]

Littré reported Diez's derivation from the Latin verb but preferred to connect it with Latin veltris, the source of vautre, a hound.^[7] Cognate with Italian voltolare (“to roll”), reflexive voltolarsi (“to wallow”).^[3][6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as reflexive se vultrer about 1180, in Marie de France's Fables, meaning “to roll about on the ground”.^[2][8] In Raoul de Cambrai a horse Trois fois se viutre, sor lez piés se dreça “rolls three times, then gets up on its feet”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

At first the verb kept the sense of its source, in se vaultrer parmi (1534), se vautrer sur (1636) and se vautrer dans.^[3] The idea of rolling gradually gave way to that of sprawling limply, probably under the influence of metaphors drawn from veau (compare s'avachir from vache).^[3]

Figuratively it means “to indulge oneself, wallow”, as in en pechie se voutrer “to wallow in sin” (about 1300) and se vautrer dans la débauche (1675).^[3][2] The transitive use (15th century, voutrer son corps) has largely disappeared and is now rare.^[3][2] In familiar French se vautrer also means “to fall heavily” and “to fail”.^[9][1]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Marie de France has se vultrer.^[2]
• c. 1195–1200 – The Roman de Renart has se voutrer.^[2]
• c. 1300 – En pechie se voutrer “to wallow in sin” is the first figurative use.^[2][3]
• 15th century – A transitive voutrer is found in a Catholicon.^[2]
• 1534 – Rabelais writes se vaultrer.^[2][3]
• 1538 – The spelling veautrer appears.^[3]
• 1636 – Monet records the modern form vautrer.^[2][3]
• 1675 – Se vautrer dans la débauche is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive) To lie or roll about in something soft, to wallow; by extension, to sprawl in a slack position.^[9][2][1]
2. (reflexive, figurative, pejorative) To wallow in, take complacent pleasure in: se vautrer dans la débauche.^[9][3]
3. (reflexive, familiar) To take a heavy fall: elle s'est vautrée dans l'escalier.^[9][1]
4. (reflexive, familiar) To fail.^[1]
5. (transitive, rare) To roll (one's body) in something soft.^[2][10]

Word family

• vautrement

Related words

• volute
• voûte
• Latin volvō

Usage notes

A separate, technical verb vautrer “to hunt wild boar with boarhounds” (1690, Furetière, vaultrer 1573, veautrier about 1387 in Gaston Phébus) is formed from vautre, a boarhound, from Late Latin vertragus.^[8][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 619a
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse