menu French · revision 15622

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la minuō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mə.ny/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''menu''' (feminine menue, masculine plural menus, feminine plural menues)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''menut'', feminine ''menude''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|menu]], [[inh|la|minūtus|t=small, fine]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|6/2, 134b) the past participle of [[m|la|minuō|t=to lessen]],^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005) which shares its stem with [[m|la|minus|t=less]].^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989) In popular Latin [[m|la|minūtus]] tended to replace [[m|la|parvus|t=small]].^(DHLF 1992) It is a doublet of [[minute]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|minuto]], [[oc|menut]], [[ca|menut]], [[es|menudo]] and [[pt|miúdo]].^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The noun “bill of fare” (1718) is the adjective used as a noun, properly a “detailed list”, as in the phrase “par le menu”, in detail.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has ''la gent menude'', the common people;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) uses it of small things, of things of little importance, and in ''menut e suvent'' “often and thick”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an adjective it means small and slender, of things and (about 1135) people, and appears in set phrases: ''menue monnaie'' “small change”, ''menus plaisirs'', ''menu fretin'' “small fry”, ''menu bétail''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The adverb gave ''hacher menu'' “to chop fine” (1314) and ''par le menu'' “in detail” (1538).^(TLFi)

+

+ From ''par le menu'' came the noun ''menu'', a detailed list of the dishes of a meal (1718),^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) then the set meal at a fixed price in a restaurant and, in computing, a list of options.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary) The English word [[m|en|menu]] was borrowed from it.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''La gent menude'' “the common people”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1100 – “Small, of little value” (''Roland'').^(TLFi)

+ * 1314 – ''Hagier menu'' “to chop fine”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – ''Par le menu'' “in detail”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1718 – The noun “bill of fare”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|menu]], the list of dishes making up a meal.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A set meal at a fixed price.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(computing)'' A list of options on a screen.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Par le menu'': in detail.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|slender|alt=Slender]], [[m|en|slight]]; small and fine: ''une femme menue''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # Of little importance: ''menus frais'', ''menue monnaie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Finely, in small pieces: ''hacher menu''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[menuet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minute]]

+ * [[la|minūtus]]

+ * [[en|menu]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}