mascotte French · revision 16044

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1867, Zola|origins=oc mascoto}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mas.kɔt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mascotte''' ''f'' (plural mascottes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a late borrowing (1867) of Provençal [[m|oc|mascoto|t=spell, bewitchment at gambling]] (before 1850),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) a derivative of [[oc|masco|t=witch]], from [[pro|masca]] (1396), a word of pre-Romance origin according to Rey (compare [[masque]]);^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) Bloch and Wartburg relate it to the “masca” of the Lombard laws.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Zola's ''Les Mystères de Marseille'' (1867) is the first record.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Audran's operetta ''La Mascotte'' (1880) spread the word, for a person, animal or object thought to bring luck: ''la mascotte du régiment''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) In slang it once meant a virgin, thought to bring luck to a first partner (Verlaine has it for a young girl, 1893).^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) For unknown reasons it is also a round sponge cake covered with coffee cream.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) English ''mascot'' was taken from French in 1881.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1867 – In Zola.^(TLFi)

+ * 1880 – Audran's ''La Mascotte''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1881 – English ''mascot''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1893 – “Young girl”, in Verlaine.^(BHVF)

+ * 1963 – A cake.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|mascot]], lucky charm: ''la mascotte d'un club sportif''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(cooking)'' A sponge cake covered with coffee buttercream.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[masque]]

+ * [[en|mascot]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}