roquette French · revision 15858

+ French has two words spelled ''roquette'': the salad plant, borrowed from Italian in the 16th century, and the rocket weapon, an old French word for a war rocket revived after English ''rocket''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ {{homograph|1|salad plant}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1505, roquete|origins=la ērūca}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʁɔ.kɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''roquette''' ''f'' (plural roquettes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The plant is [[bor|it|rochetta]] (16th century), an old variant of [[m|it|ruchetta]], diminutive of [[m|it|ruca]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 242a) from [[la|ērūca|t=caterpillar; rocket (the plant)]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Rey explains that the hairy stem recalled a caterpillar, and that the Latin form was altered to “uruca”, “urica” under the influence of [[m|la|ūrō|t=to burn]], from the plant's supposed aphrodisiac power;^(DHLF 1992) the origin of “ērūca” is unknown.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Roquete'' is first found in 1505, in Desdier Christol's French version of Platina's cookery book;^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF date it to 1538 (Robert Estienne).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Paré (16th century) writes ''Eruca, autrement dite roquette''.^(Littré 1873) The plant was grown both as a salad and for its medicinal, antiscorbutic properties.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) Since 1875 the word has also named a grey partridge thought to be a separate species, by a development that is not clear.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In the south-west of France the plant and the salad are called ''rouquette'', from Occitan.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1505 – ''Roquete'' in a translation of Platina.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – Recorded by Robert Estienne.^(GLLF 1989)

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

+ * 1875 – A kind of partridge.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|rocket|alt=Rocket]], [[m|en|arugula]]: a crucifer whose peppery leaves are eaten in salad; the salad itself.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # A grey partridge with yellow legs.^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ {{homograph|2|rocket weapon}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1561|origins=gem-pro *rukkô}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʁɔ.kɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''roquette''' ''f'' (plural roquettes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The weapon is the old French word “roquette” “war rocket” (1561), taken up again in 1950 after [[en|rocket]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The old word is [[bor|it|rocchetta|t=rocket]] (14th century), a diminutive of [[m|it|rocca|t=distaff]], named for its shape,^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) from a Germanic word for “distaff”,^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) which Wiktionary gives as Lombardic “rocko”, from [[gem-pro|*rukkô]].^(Wiktionary) Rey takes the old word to be the feminine of “roquet”, a Picard form of [[rochet]].^(DHLF 1992) English “rocket” (1611) is either from the old French word or from Italian.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A gunnery book of 1561 has ''roquet(te)'' for an incendiary war rocket;^(TLFi) Trévoux (1752) records ''faire la roquette'' “to send up flares”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the modern sense of a self-propelled, unguided projectile it is recorded in 1950 (''Science et vie''),^(TLFi) replacing the anglicism ''rocket'' (1949), which an order of 1976 condemned.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The TLFi corrects the date 1939 given by some dictionaries.^(TLFi) By metonymy it named the launcher (1953), now usually ''lance-roquettes''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1561 – ''Roquette'' “war rocket”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1752 – ''Faire la roquette'' in Trévoux.^(TLFi)

+ * 1949 – The anglicism ''rocket''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1950 – ''Roquette'' “unguided missile”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1953 – ''Lance-roquettes''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|rocket]]: a self-propelled, unguided tactical [[m|en|projectile]]: ''roquette antichar''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(historical)'' An incendiary war rocket.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lance-roquettes]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|ērūca]]

+ * [[en|rocket]]

+ * [[en|arugula]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}