forêt French · revision 15688

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1121–1134, forest (Philippe de Thaon)|origins=la forum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Paris): /fɔ.ʁɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Paris): /fo.ʁɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /fɔ.ʁe/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /fo.ʁe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''forêt''' ''f'' (plural forêts)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''forest''; the spelling ''forêt'' dates from the 17th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|forest]], [[inh|la-lat|forestis]], probably from the phrase “silva forestis”, a forest under the king's court of justice,^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|3, 708b) from [[la|forum|t=court of justice]];^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) the Late Latin word named, from 648, land whose use the king reserved for himself.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The legal sense found in the earliest texts makes a [[frk|*forhist|t=fir wood]] unlikely.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Guiraud and others relate “forestis” instead to [[m|la|forīs|t=outside]], a wood outside the commune's bounds.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ [[it|foresta]] and [[de|Forst]] were borrowed from French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Philippe de Thaon's ''Bestiaire'' (1121–1134) uses ''forest'' for a wide stretch of land covered with trees;^(TLFi) the legal sense of a royal forest is also found in Old French.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ With [[bois]], ''forêt'' displaced Old French [[m|fro|selve]], from [[la|silva]], which survives only in place names.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) From the 14th century it is used figuratively of a dense mass of upright things, as ''forest dez lanches'', a forest of lances,^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) and later of the timbers of a roof (1690).^(GLLF 1989) Phrases include ''les Eaux et Forêts'' (1690), ''forêt vierge'' (1845) and ''les arbres cachent la forêt'' “one cannot see the wood for the trees”.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The derivative ''forestier'' (12th century) keeps the /s/ of the legal language.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 648 – Late Latin ''forestis'', a royal reserve.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1121–1134 – ''Forest'' (Philippe de Thaon).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 14th century – A dense mass of things.^(TLFi)

+ * 17th century – The spelling ''forêt''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – ''Les Eaux et Forêts''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1845 – ''Forêt vierge''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|forest]], a large wooded area: ''la forêt de Fontainebleau''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Forêt vierge'': virgin forest, jungle.^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A dense mass: ''une forêt de mâts''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[forestier]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bois]]

+ * [[en|forest]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}