plein French · revision 16379

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (plain)|origins=ine-pro *pl̥h₁nós}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /plɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''plein''' (feminine pleine, masculine plural pleins, feminine plural pleines)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|plein]], [[inh|la|plēnus|t=full]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|9, 59a)^(Wiktionary) The Latin adjective is formed from “plēre” “to fill”, replaced by its compounds (see [[emplir]]), and goes back to [[ine-pro|*pl̥h₁nós|t=full]], the source also of [[en|full]] and [[de|voll]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ In French it clashed with [[plain]] “flat, level”, from Latin “plānus”, and the two were sometimes confused, as in “de plein fouet”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) Cognate with [[ro|plin]], [[it|pieno]], [[ca|ple]], [[es|lleno]] and [[pt|cheio]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1050 the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' uses it figuratively, “filled with” a feeling; about 1100 the ''Chanson de Roland'' has it in the literal sense, ''l'olifant plein d'or'' “the horn full of gold”, and of time, ''set anz tuz pleins'' “seven full years”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early on it also meant “complete, at its height”: ''pleine lune'' (about 1160), ''plein pouvoir'' (about 1208), ''en plein midi'' (about 1225).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It was said of a person full of food (about 1220) or wine (1450), whence ''plein'' “drunk” (1640), and of a pregnant animal (13th century), absorbing Old French ''prainz''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ From the 16th century it meant “solid, dense” (1531) and, of writing, “rich in meaning” (Montaigne).^(BHVF)^(TLFi) As a preposition, ''plein un sac'' is found in the early 12th century, and the familiar ''plein de'' “lots of” from 1903.^(TLFi) ''Plein aux as'' “rolling in money” dates from 1901.^(TLFi) As a noun, ''le plein'' is the full tide, the downstroke in writing (1690) and, from the 20th century, a full tank of petrol.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Plain'' “filled with” in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

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

+ * c. 1160 – ''Pleine lune'' in ''Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1208 – ''Plein pouvoir'' in Villehardouin.^(TLFi)

+ * 1531 – “Solid, massive”.^(BHVF)

+ * 1640 – ''Plein'' “drunk”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1901 – ''Plein aux as''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1903 – Familiar ''plein de'' “lots of”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|full]], filled: ''un verre plein'', ''plein de monde''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Complete, entire: ''pleins pouvoirs'', ''à plein temps''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # In the middle of: ''en plein jour'', ''en pleine mer''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # Solid, not hollow: ''une porte pleine''.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+ # Of an animal, [[m|en|pregnant]].^(Wiktionary)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ # ''(familiar)'' [[m|en|drunk]], ''plein aux as'', very rich.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''Plein de'': lots of: ''il y avait plein de gens''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Tout plein'': very, ''en plein'': right in the middle.^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le plein'': a full tank: ''faire le plein'', ''battre son plein'', to be in full swing.^(Larousse)^(Le Robert)

+ # A thick downstroke in handwriting.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[trop-plein]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[plénier]]

+ * [[plénitude]]

+ * [[emplir]]

+ * [[remplir]]

+ * [[la|plēnus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Plein'' and ''plain'' (''plain-pied'', ''de plain-chant'') are pronounced alike and were often confused, Littré held that ''de plein saut'' and similar phrases should be spelled ''plain''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}