crêpe French · revision 15741

+ French has two nouns ''crêpe'', both formed from the Old French adjective ''cresp'', ''crespe'' “curly”: the feminine pancake and the masculine fabric.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Académie 9)

+

+ {{homograph|1|pancake}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1285, Walter of Bibbesworth, crispe|origins=la crispus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kʁɛp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''crêpe''' ''f'' (plural crêpes)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Crispe'' (about 1285), ''crespe'', ''crepe'' (1380).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The pancake is the feminine of the Old French adjective [[m|fro|cresp]], [[m|fro|crespe|t=curly, wavy]], used as a noun,^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Académie 9) which is [[inh|la|crispus|t=curly]];^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|2, 1351a) it alludes to the look the batter takes as it cooks.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005) Littré says that it is so called because cooking “crimps” it, so to speak.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Walter of Bibbesworth's treatise on French (about 1285) has ''crispe'', and in the 14th century the ''Ménagier de Paris'' gives a recipe for ''crespes'' of flour mixed with eggs.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The thin pancake cooked in a pan or on a hotplate is traditional at Candlemas, and in Brittany, where Littré already describes it as a common food made of buckwheat in the west.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)^(Larousse) Familiar phrases compare a person to a pancake being tossed: ''retourner quelqu'un comme une crêpe'' “to make him change his mind completely”, ''s'aplatir comme une crêpe'' “to grovel”.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) The ''crêperie'' is from 1929.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1285 – ''Crispe'' (Bibbesworth).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 14th century – ''Crespes'' in the ''Ménagier de Paris''.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1380 – ''Crepe''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1929 – ''Crêperie''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|crêpe]], a thin [[m|en|pancake]]: ''crêpe bretonne'', ''crêpe Suzette''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Retourner quelqu'un comme une crêpe'': to make someone change their mind completely.^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crêperie]]

+ * [[crêpière]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|fabric}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1285, Jacques Bretel, Tournoi de Chauvency, crepes|origins=la crispus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kʁɛp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''crêpe''' ''m'' (plural crêpes)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Crespe'' (Académie 1694 and 1718), ''crêpe'' from 1740.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The fabric is the masculine of the Old French adjective [[m|fro|cresp]], [[m|fro|crespe|t=curly, wavy]], used as a noun,^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(Académie 9) which is [[inh|la|crispus|t=curly]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 1351a) Rey connects the Latin word with Celtic forms such as [[cy|crych|t=curly]] and the Gaulish name Cryxos.^(DHLF 1992) The same adjective gave [[crêper]] and [[crépu]], and English “crisp”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[oc|cresp]], [[es|crespo]] and [[it|crespo]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Jacques Bretel's ''Tournoi de Chauvency'' (1285) ''crepes'' are ornaments worn on the head.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word came to name a light fabric of wool or silk with a crinkled surface, made from tightly twisted threads (1357), as ''crêpe de Chine'' (1827–1853) or ''crêpe georgette''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi) Before 1549 Marguerite de Navarre's widow wears ''son crespe noir'': black crêpe as a sign of mourning, whence ''porter un crêpe'', a black band worn on the hat or sleeve, and poetic uses such as ''le crêpe de la nuit''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ By likeness, ''crêpe'' is also raw rubber with a crinkled surface, used for shoe soles (about 1929^(BHVF)^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi); ''semelle de crêpe'').^(BHVF)^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) ''Crépon'', a crinkled fabric, is from 1635.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1285 – ''Crepes'', head ornaments.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1357 – A crinkled fabric.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * before 1549 – ''Crespe noir'', a sign of mourning (Marguerite de Navarre).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1635 – ''Crépon''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1827 – ''Crêpe de Chine''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1929 – Crêpe rubber for soles.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|crepe|alt=Crepe]], a light fabric with a crinkled surface: ''crêpe de Chine''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A band of black crepe worn in [[m|en|mourning]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # Crepe rubber, used for [[m|en|sole|alt=soles]].^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[crépon]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crêper]]

+ * [[crépu]]

+ * [[la|crispus]]

+ * [[en|crêpe]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}