niche French · revision 16032

17 Oct 2026, 22:02 by bogdan “New French entry (TLFi, FEW, DHLF, Bloch–Wartburg…)” current version
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+ The Robert dictionaries distinguish ''niche'' “prank”, of uncertain origin, from ''niche'' “recess, kennel”, from ''nicher'' or Italian ''nicchia''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)
+ 
+ {{homograph|1|prank}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=back-formation|attested=1295}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /niʃ/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''niche''' ''f'' (plural niches)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ Its origin is uncertain.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) It may be the noun of an old verb “niger”, “nicher” “to act the fool, waste one's time” (from 1567 to 1611, alive in Champagne and Hainaut), a sense some explain by the long work of building a nest; or a hypercorrect pronunciation of [[nique]], taken for a Picard form, as Littré held, while Guiraud saw in it a “*negica”, from “*negicare”, from [[la|negō|alt=negāre|t=to deny]] (see [[nier]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The Grand Robert and Petit Robert date it to 1295, the GLLF to the early 13th century (''Roman de Renart''); Rey to the 16th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It names a mischievous trick, usually without malice (Balzac: ''une bonne niche que Madame a faite à Monsieur''); the word has become old-fashioned.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1295 – First record.^(Grand Robert 2005)
+ * 1567–1611 – The verb ''niger''.^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(dated)'' A [[m|en|prank]], trick: ''faire des niches à qqn''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ 
+ {{homograph|2|recess, kennel}}
+ 
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=back-formation|attested=1395, accounts of Ypres}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /niʃ/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''niche''' ''f'' (plural niches)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is either the noun of [[nicher|t=to nest]] (so the FEW, Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and Wiktionary, from “*nīdicāre”, from [[la|nīdus|t=nest]]), or a borrowing of the architectural term [[it|nicchia]], influenced by “nicher”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) The Italian word is recorded only from the 15th century (“nicchio”, Filarete, Medieval Latin of Italy “nichia”, 1467–1471); it comes from “nicchio” “shell” (early 14th century), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Latin “*onicula”, a kind of mollusc, from “onycha” (see [[onyx]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Diez, followed by Littré, took “nicchio” from [[la|mytilus|t=mussel]]; the REW derives “nicchia” itself from “*nidiculare” “to nest”.^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The accounts of the town of Ypres (1395) have it for a recess made in a wall for a statue.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It long remained a term of architecture and decoration, extended to a recess for a piece of furniture (Mme de Motteville, 1666–1689).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In 1697 it took the everyday sense “dog kennel”, whence the familiar, now dated “refuge, home” (Voltaire, 1760).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The idea of a hollow gave a natural shelter (1836) and in medicine a cavity at an ulcer (''niche ulcéreuse'', about 1950).^(DHLF 1992) ''Niche écologique'' is from English ''niche'' (1927), itself from French, as are the economic ''niche de marché'' and ''niche fiscale''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) English ''niche'' was borrowed in the 1610s.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1395 – A recess for a statue.^(TLFi)
+ * 1610s – English ''niche''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1666–1689 – A recess for furniture.^(TLFi)
+ * 1697 – A dog kennel.^(TLFi)
+ * 1760 – “Refuge”, in Voltaire.^(TLFi)
+ * 1927 – The ecological niche (in English).^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A [[m|en|niche]], recess (in a wall): ''une statue dans une niche''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ # An alcove, nook.^(Petit Robert 2007)
+ # A [[m|en|kennel]]: ''à la niche !''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(ecology)'' ''Niche écologique'': ecological niche.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(economics)'' A niche market, ''niche fiscale'': tax loophole.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nicher]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[chenil]]
+ * [[nid]]
+ * [[nique]]
+ * [[en|niche]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}