veine

Forms

veine f (plural veines)^[1] Old French veine, voine, vaine (13th to early 18th century), Middle French vene (1562 to the late 17th century).^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French veine, inherited from Latin vēna (“vein, channel, vein of metal”).^[3][4][2][5] In Latin the word named any kind of duct, a stream of water or a vein of ore, and figuratively poetic inspiration;^[2][5] Bloch and Wartburg note that the senses “seam of ore” and “poetic vein” already existed in Latin.^[2][5] The origin of the Latin word is not clear.^[2][1]

Cognate with Italian vena, Spanish vena, Occitan vena, Portuguese veia, Romanian vină and Walloon vône.^[6][7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is orinal voine in the Roman d'Énéas (about 1160), for the artery of the neck or the windpipe;^[3] Rey dates the form voine to about 1130.^[2] The sense “blood vessel” follows in the Chroniques des ducs de Normandie (about 1174), and maistre voine “aorta” about 1200.^[3]

Semantic evolution

At first veine covered every blood vessel, arteries included; the modern division between veins and arteries came with the discovery of the circulation of the blood.^[2] In the plural the veins stood for the blood, the seat of life, in many phrases: le sang me gele dans mes veines (1574) for terror, le sang qui bout dans les veines (1624) for vigour.^[3][2] By figure it meant “family, lineage” (1212, de noble veine).^[3][2]

After other Latin senses it named a seam of ore in rock (about 1230) and an underground stream (1155), and by analogy a streak in wood or stone (1607) and a vein in a leaf (1636).^[2] The idea of inspiration (about 1165) led to “good disposition”, now kept only in être en veine de “to be in the mood for” (1798), and to “luck”: être en veine “to be lucky at play” (1801), then familiar veine “good luck” (1875) and avoir de la veine (1894), whence veinard and déveine.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Orinal voine appears in the Roman d'Énéas.^[3]
• c. 1165 – First used for inspiration.^[2][8]
• c. 1174 – Used for a blood vessel.^[3]
• 1212 – De noble veine “of noble descent” is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1230 – Vaine is used for a seam of ore.^[2]
• 1552 – Ouvrir la veine “to bleed a patient” is recorded.^[3]
• 1574 – Le sang me gele dans mes veines appears in Garnier.^[3]
• 1801 – Être en veine “to be lucky at play” is recorded.^[2]
• 1875 – Veine alone means good luck.^[2]
• 1894 – Avoir de la veine is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) A vein, a blood vessel carrying blood back to the heart.^[9][3][1]
2. (in the plural) The veins as the seat of the blood and of life: le sang se glaça dans ses veines.^[3][2]
3. (geology) A seam or lode of a mineral in rock.^[3][1]
4. A thin coloured streak in wood or stone, or a rib in a leaf.^[3][2]
5. (literary) Inspiration, the creative vein of an artist: dans la même veine.^[3][1]
6. (familiar) Luck: avoir de la veine, être en veine.^[1][2]

Word family

• déveine
• veinard
• veiner
• veineux
• venelle
• veiné
• veinette
• veinure

Related words

• Latin vēna

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 226a
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert