silhouette French · revision 15605

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=eponym|attested=1759, à la silhouette}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /si.lwɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /si.lu.ɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''silhouette''' ''f'' (plural silhouettes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is named after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), controller-general of finances from March to November 1759.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) His economy measures made him unpopular and mocked in songs, and the phrase “à la silhouette” was coined in derision in 1759 for things made cheaply or left unfinished.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) It has also been said that Silhouette himself liked to trace such profiles at his château;^(TLFi) Rey calls this unproven.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is the phrase ''à la silhouette'' (1759), which seems to have meant things done “on the cheap”, sketchily.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) By 1763 ''portraits à la silhouette'' were profile drawings traced from the shadow cast by a face.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Rousseau wrote of a ''profil à la silhouette'' in 1765, and the noun ''silhouette'' alone is found from 1788 for such a shadow portrait, often cut out of black paper and mounted on a light ground.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi) In the 19th century the word widened to any dark shape standing out against a light background (Hugo in 1840, Chateaubriand before 1841),^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) then to the general outline of a human figure (Maupassant, 1888).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ Later specialised uses are the ''silhouette de tir'', a figure used as a shooting target (1904), and, in film and theatre, a small speaking part above the extras (1925).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1759 – ''À la silhouette'' is coined during Silhouette's ministry.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1763 – ''Portraits à la silhouette'', profiles traced from a shadow.^(TLFi)

+ * 1765 – Rousseau writes of a ''profil à la silhouette''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1788 – ''Silhouette'' is used alone as a noun.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1840 – Hugo uses it for a dark shape seen against a light ground.^(TLFi)

+ * 1888 – Maupassant uses it for a person's figure.^(TLFi)

+ * 1904 – ''Silhouette de tir'', a target figure.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A shape or outline seen dark against a lighter background.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # The general outline or [[m|en|figure]] of a person.^(Le Robert)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(art, dated)'' A [[m|en|profile]] portrait traced from a shadow or cut from black paper.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A drawing with simplified outlines, such as a shooting target.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(film, theatre)'' A small part, a [[m|en|walk-on]] with a few lines.^(Le Robert)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|silhouette]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}