rubis French · revision 15754

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1160, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, robin|origins=la rubeus}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rubis''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''robin'' (about 1160), ''rubin'', ''rubi'' (about 1175), ''rubis'' (about 1196); the plural form replaced ''rubi'' about the 16th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|rubis]], the plural, taken as a singular, of [[m|fro|rubi]], earlier [[m|fro|robin]], [[m|fro|rubin]],^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) [[bor|la-med|rubīnus|t=red precious stone]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|10, 535b) a derivative of [[la|rubeus|t=red, reddish]], the source of [[rouge]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) The loss of the “-n” is due to the influence of [[pro|robi]], in which it had regularly fallen.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) The Medieval Latin word also gave [[it|rubino]], whence [[es|rubín]] and [[de|Rubin]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Benoît de Sainte-Maure's ''Roman de Troie'' (about 1165) names ''rubis'' among precious stones; the same poem also has the form ''robin''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name extends to other red stones, as the ''rubis balais'' (1228), the ''rubis de Bohême'' (1768) and the ''faux rubis''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In the 15th century Basselin jokes about a nose whose ''rubis'' have cost many casks of wine, and ''rubis'' were red spots on a drinker's face (1539), a sense now gone.^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''Faire rubis sur l'ongle'' (1640) was to drink a glass so dry that the last drop, poured on the thumbnail, did not run; from “to the last drop” came ''payer rubis sur l'ongle'', “to pay on the nail, to the last penny” (1668–1685).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) In watchmaking a ''rubis'' is a jewel bearing (1801), so that a ''montre trois rubis'' has three jewels^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(BHVF); ''rubis'' is also a vivid red colour (1704; adjective 1849) and the name of brightly coloured hummingbirds (1791).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1160 – ''Robin'' (Benoît de Sainte-Maure).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1175 – ''Rubi'' (Chrétien de Troyes).^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1196 – ''Rubis'' as a singular (Jean Bodel).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1228 – ''Rubi balois''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1539 – Red spots on a drinker's nose.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1640 – ''Faire rubis sur l'ongle''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1685 – ''Payer rubis sur l'ongle'' (Furetière).^(TLFi)

+ * 1801 – A jewel in a watch.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|ruby]], a red precious stone, a variety of [[m|en|corundum]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(watchmaking)'' A [[m|en|jewel]] bearing.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Payer rubis sur l'ongle'': to pay cash, to the last penny.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # A vivid red colour^(Larousse)^(BHVF); ''(as adjective)'' ruby-red.^(Larousse)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rouge]]

+ * [[la|rubeus]]

+ * [[en|ruby]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}