gage French · revision 15880

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1130, Lois de Guillaume|origins=frk *waddi}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡaʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gage''' ''m'' (plural gages)^(Wiktionary)

+ [[fro|wage]], [[m|fro|gwage]], [[m|fro|guage]].^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|gage]], from Early Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|wadium|t=pledge]] (about 643, also in the Reichenau Glosses), from [[frk|*waddi|t=pledge]],^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|17, 441a) a term of Germanic law.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Cognate with [[dum|wedde]], [[goh|wetti|t=pledge, fine]], [[got|𐍅𐌰𐌳𐌹|tr=wadi|t=pledge]] and [[de|Wette|t=bet]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary takes the Frankish word from [[gem-pro|*wadją|t=pledge]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The TLFi does not rule out that [[la|vas|t=surety, bail]] played a part,^(TLFi) and Littré thought both the Latin and the Germanic word had contributed.^(Littré 1873) P. Guiraud took “gage” instead as a back-formation from [[gager]], from the Germanic word crossed with a [[la-vul|*vadiō|alt=*vadiare]];^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Rey thinks the two origins may have crossed.^(DHLF 1992) [[it|gaggio]], [[es|gage]] and [[pt|gage]] come from French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Lois de Guillaume'' (about 1130) have ''gwage'', something deposited as security for a debt or for doing something.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1135 ''mettre guage'' meant “to stake, put at risk”, and about 1165 ''guage'' was compensation for a wrong.^(TLFi) The plural ''gages'' meant pay or salary from about 1160–1174 (Wace),^(TLFi) especially a servant's wages, hence ''être aux gages de qqn'' and ''à gages'' “hired” (1713), surviving in ''tueur à gages'' “hired killer”.^(DHLF 1992) ''Gage de bataille'', a glove thrown down as pledge of combat, is in Beaumanoir.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989) Figuratively a ''gage'' is a token or proof (early 15th century, Charles d'Orléans).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In parlour games it is a forfeit (1538), now the penance imposed on the loser.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Bloch and Wartburg note that in law ''gage'' has given way to ''caution'' and ''garantie''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1130 – ''Gwage'' “security” in the ''Lois de Guillaume''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1135 – ''Mettre guage'' “to stake”.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – “Compensation” in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)

+ * 1160–1174 – ''Gages'' “pay” in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1283 – ''Gage de bataille'' in Beaumanoir.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1538 – A forfeit in games, in Estienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1694 – A stake deposited in a dispute, in the Académie.^(TLFi)

+ * 1713 – ''À gages'' “hired”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(law)'' A [[m|en|pledge]]: a movable good handed to a creditor as security for a debt; the contract by which it is given: ''prêteur sur gages''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A guarantee; a token or proof: ''un gage d'amitié''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # In parlour games, a [[m|en|forfeit]] or penance imposed on the loser.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(in the plural, dated)'' [[m|en|wage|alt=Wages]], a servant's pay, ''à gages'': hired: ''tueur à gages''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gager]]

+ * [[gageure]]

+ * [[gagiste]]

+ * [[dégager]]

+ * [[désengager]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|gage]]

+ * [[en|wage]]

+ * [[en|wed]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}