enveloppe French · revision 16108

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1292}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃.vlɔp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''enveloppe''' ''f'' (plural enveloppes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a back-formation from [[envelopper]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The verb, Old French [[m|fro|envoloper]] (980) and [[m|fro|anveloper]] (about 1175), is formed with [[en-]] on Old French [[m|fro|voloper|t=to wrap]], of obscure origin;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the TLFi, Bloch and Wartburg and Rey connect it with Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|faluppa|t=chip, wisp of straw]], with ⟨vo⟩ due to the influence of [[la|volvō|t=to roll]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) [[développer]] belongs to the same family, as do Old Occitan [[m|pro|volopar]] and Italian [[m|it|viluppo|t=tuft, tangle]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In 1292, in the accounts of Mahaut, Countess of Artois, it means a wrapping or cover: leather covers ''pour l'enveloppe''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The envelope of a letter is recorded in a tariff of 1676 according to the TLFi, but a letter of Peiresc already speaks of it in 1632;^(BHVF) ''sous enveloppe'' appears in 1793.^(TLFi)^(BHVF) Figuratively it meant from 1663 (Molière) what hides or covers, hence the outward appearance of a person and, in literary use, the body as opposed to the soul.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse) It became a term of botany (1703), anatomy and geometry (Monge, 1807), and named the outer casing of a tyre (1892).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) In the 20th century an ''enveloppe'' is also a sum of money handed over discreetly, and an ''enveloppe budgétaire'' the overall sum allotted to a purpose.^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse)

+

+ English took [[m|en|envelope]] in 1705.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 980 – The verb ''envoloper'' appears in the ''Passion'' of Clermont.^(TLFi)

+ * 1292 – ''Enveloppe'' “wrapping” is first recorded.^(TLFi)

+ * 1632 – Used for the cover of a letter.^(BHVF)

+ * 1663 – Molière uses it figuratively for what hides something.^(TLFi)

+ * 1705 – English borrows the word.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1807 – Monge uses it in geometry.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ * 1892 – Used for the casing of a tyre.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|envelope]], a folded paper pocket for a letter: ''mettre une lettre sous enveloppe''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A [[m|en|wrapping]] or cover: ''l'enveloppe d'un colis''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # The outer casing of a [[m|en|tyre]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A sum of money given discreetly, for a service or as a bribe.^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Enveloppe budgétaire'': the overall sum of credits allotted to a purpose.^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(literary)'' Outward appearance; the body as opposed to the soul: ''enveloppe corporelle''.^(Larousse)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A [[m|en|membrane]] or set of membranes surrounding an organ.^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A curve or surface touching each of a family of curves or surfaces.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[développer]]

+ * [[en|envelope]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}