braise French · revision 16052
17 Oct 2026, 22:02 by bogdan “New French entry (TLFi, FEW, DHLF, Bloch–Wartburg…)” current version
Initial text
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1170, Livre des Rois}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /bʁɛz/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''braise''' ''f'' (plural braises)^(Wiktionary)
+ [[fro|breze]] (about 1170), ''brese'', ''breise'', ''bresze'' (1396).^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ Its origin is obscure, perhaps Germanic.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|15/1, 254a) The word is found throughout Romance ([[it|brace]], Old Italian “bragia”, [[es|brasa]], [[pro|brasa]]) and, from the 10th century in Medieval Latin “brasas carbones”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It did not exist in West Germanic but is found in the North ([[sv|brasa|t=to roast; blazing fire]], Norwegian “bras” “crackling fire”), so Bloch and Wartburg and Rey suppose a Gothic stem “*bras-”, brought by the Goths, rather than a borrowing from Old Norse or Frankish.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Wiktionary gives Gothic “*brasa” “glowing coal”, from [[gem-pro|*brasō]].^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The ''Livre des Rois'' (late 12th century) has ''un pain quit sur breze'', a loaf baked on the embers.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From the first texts it also meant “flame, ardour” (1176), mostly in phrases such as ''chaud comme braise'' and ''être sur la braise'' “to be on tenterhooks”.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) It came to mean the light charcoal that rekindles easily (''bresze'', 1396), used by bakers (1718).^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ The slang sense “money” (1783) is explained either from a Lyonnais ''braise'' “crumb, scrap” or as a metaphor, since embers “keep the pot boiling”; the Grand Robert and Petit Robert treat it as a separate word.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) Derivatives include ''brasier'' and ''embraser'' (12th century), ''braiser'' (1783) and ''brésil'' (about 1170), a red dye wood compared to glowing embers, which gave its name to Brazil.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 10th century – Medieval Latin ''brasas carbones''.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * c. 1170 – ''Breze'', ''brésil''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+ * 1176 – “Ardour”.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1396 – ''Bresze'' “charcoal”.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1718 – Bakers' charcoal.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1783 – “Money” (slang); ''braiser''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # [[m|en|embers|alt=Embers]], live coals: ''griller sur la braise'', ''des yeux de braise'': fiery eyes.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Charcoal from partly burnt wood.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)
+ # ''Être sur la braise'': to be on tenterhooks.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)
+ # ''(slang, dated)'' [[m|en|cash|alt=Cash]], dough.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[brasier]]
+ * [[embraser]]
+ * [[braiser]]
+ * [[braser]]
+ * [[brasiller]]
+ * [[brésil]]
+ * [[embrasement]]
+ * [[embrasure]]
+ * [[braiser]]
+ * [[brasier]]
+ * [[embraser]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[brasero]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}