cocon French · revision 15737

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1600, Olivier de Serres, coucon|origins=oc coco}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔ.kɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cocon''' ''m'' (plural cocons)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Coucon'' (1600, still recorded in 1752), ''coccon'' (1653); Féraud (1787) notes ''coquon'', ''couquon'' and ''coucon''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|oc|coucoun|t=eggshell; cocoon]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Grand Robert 2005) a derivative of [[m|oc|coco|t=shell]], of the same origin as [[coque]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Its first user, Olivier de Serres, wrote of the silkworms of the Cévennes in Languedoc.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Littré still thought it a derivative of “coque” made in French, and cites a Medieval Latin “coconus” “stopper” from Du Cange.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Olivier de Serres (1600) uses ''coucon'' for the silk envelope of the silkworm: worms fed on black mulberry leaves make ''coucons ou piotons grands et mols'' (“large, soft cocoons”).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word names the silky envelope that the caterpillars of some moths spin before turning into a chrysalis, the silkworm's above all, and by extension a similar envelope made by spiders for their eggs.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Figuratively it suggests a soft, protective retreat: ''s'enfermer dans son cocon'' is to shut oneself away.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ English took ''cocoon'' from the French word in the 17th century, and about 1988 French borrowed back ''cocooning'' from it.^(DHLF 1992) In popular speech ''cocon'' once meant the head, by attraction of [[coco]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1600 – ''Coucon'' in Olivier de Serres.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1653 – ''Coccon'' (Oudin).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1694 – Recorded by the Académie.^(TLFi)

+ * 1752 – ''Coucon'' is still recorded by the Trévoux dictionary.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1988 – The anglicism ''cocooning'' appears.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(zoology)'' A [[m|en|cocoon]], the silk envelope spun by some [[m|en|caterpillar|alt=caterpillars]] to turn into a [[m|en|chrysalis]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The silk sac in which some [[m|en|spider|alt=spiders]] wrap their eggs.^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A sheltered, protective retreat: ''se retirer dans son cocon''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coque]]

+ * [[en|cocoon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}