chaîne French · revision 16093

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la catēna}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɛn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ʃɛːn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /ʃa.ɛ̯n/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /ʃɛːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chaîne''' ''f'' (plural chaînes)^(Wiktionary)

+ [[fro|chaiene]], ''chaeine'', ''caeine'' (about 1100), ''chaene'', ''chaisne''; the ⟨s⟩ of Middle French, then the circumflex, mark the long vowel left by the Old French hiatus.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chaiene]], [[inh|la|catēna|t=chain]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|2, 498a) by the regular change of /k/ before /a/ to /tʃ/ and then /ʃ/, as in “chien” and “chose”, and the loss of /t/ between vowels (“*chadeine”).^(DHLF 1992) The Latin word, which passed into all the Romance languages and also into Germanic and Celtic, is of unknown origin.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Compare [[it|catena]], [[es|cadena]], [[ca|cadena]], [[oc|cadena]] and [[pt|cadeia]], “cadène” and “catène” are doublets, and [[cadenas]] came through Occitan.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has ''chaiene'', ''caeines de fer'', for the chains that hold a prisoner.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Chains became the symbol of servitude (galley slaves, before 1683, ''vivre dans les chaînes'', 1600), and by weakening any tie of dependence (d'Aubigné's ''la chaine d'honneur'', 1621, Boileau's ''tenir à la chaîne'', 1668).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Technical uses include traction (1684) and the surveyor's chain (1690).^(TLFi)

+

+ The idea of a series of links gave the warp of a fabric (Étienne Boileau, 1268, as opposed to the weft), architecture (1611), a chain of truths (Descartes, 1637), of mountains (Vaugelas, 1653), of bones (Cuvier, 1805) and of people passing things from hand to hand (1832).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Industry gave ''chaîne de production'' (1863) and ''travail à la chaîne'' (1927); electronics and broadcasting gave the television channel and the hi-fi system (1970s); biology the ''chaîne alimentaire''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) English ''chain'' was borrowed in the 14th century.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Chaiene'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1268 – The warp of cloth.^(TLFi)

+ * 1621 – Figurative, in d'Aubigné.^(TLFi)

+ * 1637 – A chain of truths, in Descartes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1653 – ''Chaîne de montagnes''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1684 – In traction.^(TLFi)

+ * 1832 – A human chain.^(TLFi)

+ * 1927 – ''Travail à la chaîne''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1974 – ''Chaîne haute fidélité''.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|chain]]: ''chaîne de vélo'', ''une chaîne en or'', ''chaîne de sûreté''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' Chains, bonds; servitude: ''briser ses chaînes''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A series, chain: ''chaîne de montagnes'', ''réaction en chaîne'', ''chaîne alimentaire''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # A production line: ''travail à la chaîne''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # A (television) [[m|en|channel]]; a chain (of shops, hotels).^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A hi-fi system: ''chaîne stéréo''.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+ # ''(textiles)'' The warp.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(computing)'' A string: ''chaîne de caractères''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chaîner]]

+ * [[chaînette]]

+ * [[chaînon]]

+ * [[déchaîné]]

+ * [[déchaîner]]

+ * [[enchaînement]]

+ * [[enchaîner]]

+ * [[chaînette]]

+ * [[chaînon]]

+ * [[enchaîner]]

+ * [[déchaîner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cadenas]]

+ * [[caténaire]]

+ * [[concaténation]]

+ * [[canal]]

+ * [[chignon]]

+ * [[la|catēna]]

+ * [[en|chain]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}