envelopper French · revision 16070
17 Oct 2026, 22:02 by bogdan “New French entry (TLFi, FEW, DHLF, Bloch–Wartburg…)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=late 10th century, Passion of Clermont|origins=la volvō}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ɑ̃.vlɔ.pe/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''envelopper'''^(Wiktionary)
+ ''Envolopet'' (3rd person past, late 10th century), ''envolupé'' (''Roland''), ''anveloper'' (about 1175); the forms in ''envol-'' are limited to Old and Middle French.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is formed with the prefix [[en-]] from Old French [[m|fro|voloper|t=to wrap, wrap round]] (12th–14th centuries),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 398b) which corresponds to [[pro|volopar]] and Italian “viluppo” “tangle, bundle”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Voloper” is of obscure origin, perhaps from [[la-med|faluppa|t=chaff, wisp of straw]] (10th century), with the initial “vo-” due to [[la|volvō|t=to roll]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Wiktionary instead derives it from a Germanic word for “to wrap”, akin to [[en|wrap]].^(Wiktionary)
+
+ [[développer]] is its opposite, and [[fripe]] and [[flapi]] may belong to the same family.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The ''Passion'' of Clermont (late 10th century) has ''l'envolopet'', of Joseph wrapping the body of Jesus;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''envolupé d'un paile Alexandrin'', wrapped in a silk of Alexandria.^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From the start it meant to cover something on all sides.^(DHLF 1992) About 1235 Gautier de Coinci used it for “to ensnare, get round” someone, and, from 1680 one ''enveloppe'' a thing in mystery, to conceal it.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Marguerite de Navarre (before 1549) has it for including someone with others (''enveloppé dans une accusation'', Furetière).^(TLFi)^(BHVF)
+
+ In the 17th century it became a military term, “to surround (the enemy)” (1636, Amyot already has ''envelopper par derriere''), and was used of whatever seems to cover a thing completely (''la nuit enveloppe la ville'').^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) The commercial ''je vous l'enveloppe ?'' asks whether the sale is agreed.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The noun ''enveloppe'' (1292) has meant a letter's cover since 1632.^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * Late 10th century – ''Envolopet'' in the Clermont ''Passion''.^(TLFi)
+ * c. 1175 – ''Anveloper'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)
+ * c. 1214 – ''Envolopement''.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * c. 1235 – “To ensnare”, in Gautier de Coinci.^(TLFi)
+ * 1292 – ''Enveloppe''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+ * 1636 – “To surround (the enemy)”.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1680 – “To veil (in mystery)”.^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To [[m|en|wrap]], wrap up: ''envelopper un cadeau'', ''envelopper un enfant dans une couverture''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # To [[m|en|envelop]], cover entirely: ''la brume enveloppait la ville''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ # To veil, shroud: ''une affaire enveloppée de mystère''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)
+ # ''(military)'' To surround, encircle.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)
+ # To include, implicate: ''envelopper qqn dans une accusation''.^(Littré 1873)^(BHVF)
+ # ''Je vous l'enveloppe ?'': shall I wrap it for you? (is it a deal?).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[enveloppe]]
+ * [[enveloppement]]
+ * [[enveloppe]]
+ * [[enveloppement]]
+ * [[enveloppant]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[développer]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}