vignette French · revision 16088

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1280, Girart d'Amiens}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vi.ɲɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vignette''' ''f'' (plural vignettes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a diminutive of [[vigne|t=vine]] with the suffix “-ette”,^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) because the ornament first represented vine branches and leaves; it is no longer felt to be related.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) “Vigne” is [[inh|la|vīnea|t=vineyard]], from [[la|vīnum|t=wine]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Girart d'Amiens's ''Escanor'' (about 1280) has the plural for ornaments of vine branches and leaves on furniture and plate;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Joinville speaks of amber set on crystal ''à beles vignettes de bon or fin''.^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Only the idea of ornament survived: an ornament in a printed text (1454), at the head of pages or ends of chapters (Félibien, 1676), and an engraving framed by a cartouche (Fontenelle, 1730).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Balzac (1834) used it for the illustrations of a book or newspaper, and it later named a letter-paper ornament (1835), a handkerchief design (1844) and a poster design (Hugo, 1855).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ A law of 23 June 1857 gave it the sense of a small printed label with legal value, whence the trade mark motif, the ''vignette automobile'' (1956) and, in France, the sticker on a medicine for Social Security reimbursement (1957); it also names each picture of a comic strip.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) English ''vignette'' was taken from French in 1751.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1280 – Vine-leaf ornaments, in ''Escanor''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1334 – ''Vigneté''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1454 – An ornament in a printed text.^(TLFi)

+ * 1676 – A headpiece, in Félibien.^(TLFi)

+ * 1730 – An engraving in a cartouche.^(TLFi)

+ * 1751 – English ''vignette''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1834 – An illustration, in Balzac.^(TLFi)

+ * 1857 – A label with legal value.^(TLFi)

+ * 1956 – ''Vignette automobile''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|vignette]], ornamental motif (in a book).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A small illustration; a panel (of a comic strip).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A label, sticker (with legal value): ''vignette automobile'' (road-tax disc); the price sticker on a medicine.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A trade mark motif.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vignettiste]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vigne]]

+ * [[vin]]

+ * [[en|vignette]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}