zéphyr

Forms

zéphyr m (plural zéphyrs)^[1] Middle French zephirus (about 1320) and zephire (about 1515), then zéphyr from Ronsard (1552).^[2][3] The spellings zéphire (1648) and zéphir (1690) were also used.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin zephyrus (“the mild west wind, its god”),^[2][3][5] which is from Ancient Greek ζέφυρος (zéphuros, “west or north-west wind”).^[2][3][6] It was first used in the Latin spelling zephirus, and was gallicized as zephire about 1515.^[3][2] The Greek word was often personified in Homer, and Rey links it with ζόφος (zóphos, “darkness, the dark region”), that is, the west.^[3] The Greek wind was often violent or rainy; the mild, warm wind is the Latin sense.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ovide moralisé (about 1320) has Zephirus for the west wind and the god who personifies it, in a classical setting.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Introduced for the west wind of antiquity and its god, the word came to mean any soft, gentle breeze, first in Ronsard's Amours (1552).^[2][3] In classical French the plural les zéphyrs (1678, La Fontaine) stood for spring.^[3][4]

From the lightness of the wind came pas de zéphyr (1842), a dance step, and in army slang les Zéphirs (1831), the light infantry battalions of Africa, then a soldier of these battalions (1843); both uses have gone out.^[2][3] The slang abbreviation zèph or zèf (1878) means wind in general.^[3]

In textiles, drap zéphyr is recorded in 1849 and laine zéphyr in 1877, a light wool, after a German name;^[2][3][7] zéphyr alone has named a fine, soft cotton cloth since 1858.^[2][3][7] English zephyr came from the Latin, extended to any mild breeze by the 1610s.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1320 – Zephirus appears in the Ovide moralisé.^[2]
• c. 1515 – Clément Marot writes Zephire.^[2][3]
• 1552 – Ronsard uses it for a gentle, mild breeze.^[2][3]
• 1678 – La Fontaine's zéphyrs stand for spring.^[3][4]
• 1771 – Œuf zéphyrien “egg without a germ” is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1831 – Les Zéphirs names the light infantry battalions of Africa.^[2][3]
• 1842 – Pas de zéphyr is recorded as a dance step.^[2][3]
• 1858 – First used for a fine cotton cloth.^[2][7]
• 1877 – Laine zéphyr is recorded.^[7][3]
• 1878 – The slang clipping zèph appears.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (mythology) The west wind of the ancients, as a god, written with a capital.^[9][2]
2. (poetic, literary) A soft, pleasant wind, a light breeze: un léger zéphyr agitait les feuilles.^[7][10][9]
3. A fine, soft cotton cloth used for shirts and children's clothes.^[7][9]
4. Laine zéphyr: a soft, loosely twisted wool for light garments and baby clothes.^[7]

Word family

• zéphyrien

Related words

• Latin zephyrus
• English zephyr

Usage notes

The spelling zéphir is no longer used.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b 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 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 o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)