rococo French · revision 15795

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation, reduplication|attested=1825, Feuilleton des Débats}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʁɔ.kɔ.ko/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rococo''' (plural rococos)^(Wiktionary)

+ Also written ''roccoco'' (Borel, 1833).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a playful formation of the artists' studios on [[rocaille]], the style of rockwork ornament, with the syllable “-co” doubled.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(FEW|10, 437a) Like other terms of Old Regime art such as “perruque” and “trumeau”, it was coined to mock what was old-fashioned.^(DHLF 1992) Wiktionary attributes it to a pupil of David and mentions a blend with [[pt|barroco]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record (1825) is an adjective meaning “outdated”: the Romantics, a critic complains, call Aristotle a ''ganache'' and Boileau ''rococo''.^(BHVF)^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Within a few years the word named the ornate 18th-century style itself, overloaded with scrolls and garlands (1828–1829, Stendhal).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In art history it lost its pejorative tone, as ''baroque'' did, in part under German influence, where ''Rokoko'' names the 18th-century style as distinct from ''Barock''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ In everyday French ''rococo'' has stayed pejorative: affectedly elaborate in art or writing (1846, Baudelaire), and old-fashioned and slightly ridiculous (1834).^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989) The 19th century also made joking derivatives such as ''rococoterie'' (1839), now gone.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1825 – “Outdated”, of Boileau.^(BHVF)^(TLFi)

+ * 1828–1829 – The 18th-century ornamental style (Stendhal).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1834 – “Old-fashioned” (Boiste).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1846 – Affected in art or writing (Baudelaire).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1878 – First recorded by the Académie.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|rococo|alt=Rococo]], the ornate 18th-century style of decoration and art, close to [[rocaille]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Rococo, in that style: ''pendules rococo''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(pejorative)'' Old-fashioned and ridiculous; [[m|en|outdated]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rocaille]]

+ * [[roche]]

+ * [[baroque]]

+ * [[en|rococo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}