verger

Forms

verger m (plural vergers)^[1] Old French vergier, also vregier.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vergier, inherited from Latin viridārium (“pleasure garden, grove”) (also viridiārium), a derivative of viridis (“green”).^{[5][6][7][1][8]} Cognate with Old Occitan vergier, Catalan verger and Italian verziere.^[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100): Alez en est en un verger suz l'umbre “he has gone into an orchard, in the shade”.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages vergier was the usual word both for a pleasure garden and for a garden planted with fruit trees.^[5][6] Jardin, found mostly in Norman and Anglo-Norman texts in the 12th century, spread from the second half of the 13th century, first at the expense of ort “kitchen garden”.^[5] In the Roman de la Rose Guillaume de Lorris calls the garden of Deduit vergier many times and jardin rarely, while his continuator Jean de Meun prefers jardin; the two words competed until the end of the 15th century.^[5] From the 16th century they stopped being used for each other: verger was left for fruit trees, and jardin also pushed out ort.^[6]

The singular can stand for all the orchards of a region or country, as in le verger français.^[5] The compound pré-verger (1922) is a geography term for a meadow planted with standard fruit trees.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Verger appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[5][3]
• 2nd half of the 13th century – Jardin begins to compete with it.^[5]
• 14th century – Le Songe du vergier takes it as its title.^[3]
• 16th century – It is restricted to land planted with fruit trees.^[6]
• 1922 – Pré-verger is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An orchard, land planted with fruit trees, usually of several kinds.^[9][5]
2. (collective) The orchards of a region or country as a whole.^[5]

Word family

• pré-verger

Related words

• vert
• jardin
• Latin viridārium

Usage notes

A separate verb verger, “to measure cloth or gauge a cask with a verge”, is given by Littré.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 506a
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert