voyelle

Forms

voyelle f (plural voyelles)^[1] Old French voieul, voioele, then voyel (15th century) and voielle (before 1483).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French voieul (“vowel”), which became feminine in the 15th century under the influence of consonne.^[2][4][3] The Old French word, also an adjective meaning “vocal”, came by way of its plural voieus from an unattested *voiel, inherited from Latin vōcālis (“sounding, vocal, vowel”), from vōx (“voice”).^[2][3][5] The same Latin word was borrowed as vocal.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun voieul is found in Brunetto Latini's Trésor (about 1265), and the adjective “vocal” in Jean de Meun's translation of Vegetius (1284).^[5][2][4] The feminine voielle first appears before 1483 in L'Instructif de la seconde rhétorique.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the sound produced by the voice without friction and the letter that writes it.^[3] Voix was also used in this sense.^[3][2] The compound demi-voyelle (1842, demi voieul at the end of the 14th century) once also named a consonant whose name begins with a vowel, as s; phoneticians later said semi-voyelle (1845).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1265 – Voieul in Brunetto Latini's Trésor.^[5][6]
• 1284 – Jean de Meun uses voieul as an adjective, “vocal”.^[2]
• Late 14th century – Deschamps writes of deux voieulx.^[4][7]
• Before 1483 – The feminine voielle appears.^[2]
• 1530 – Palsgrave records voyelle.^[6]
• 1845 – Semi-voyelle appears in phonetics.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A vowel: a speech sound produced with the voice and no friction, shaped by the mouth cavity.^[8][2]
2. A letter that represents such a sound.^[7][3]

Word family

• semi-voyelle

Related words

• vocal
• voix
• consonne
• Latin vōcālis

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert