chien French · revision 16430

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Belgium, France): /ʃjɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Quebec): /ʃjẽ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chien''' ''m'' (plural chiens, feminine chienne)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|chen]] (1080), ''chien'' from 1195–1200, Picard and Norman ''kien'', ''quien''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chen]], [[inh|la|canis|t=dog]], accusative “canem”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 191a)^(Wiktionary) “Canis” replaced an older Indo-European stem in “-n”, as in [[grc|κύων|tr=kúōn]], with a vocalism that is hard to explain; [[got|𐌷𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃|tr=hunds]] and [[sa|श्वन्|tr=śván]] belong to the same group.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|cane]], [[oc|can]], [[pt|cão]], [[ro|câine]] and [[es|can]].^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found as ''chen'' in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100), naming the animal.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a term of contempt it was an adjective in the ''Roman de Renart'' (1195–1200) and a noun for a man in Gautier de Coinci (1223); ''de chien'' expresses hardship or contempt from Rabelais (1552), as in ''une vie de chien'' (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Many phrases set the dog against the wolf or the cat: ''entre chien et loup'' (first half of the 13th century) and ''s'accorder comme chien et chat'' (1690); ''comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles'' is from 1694.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The cock of a gun, which “guards” the charge, is also a ''chien''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) Journalists' slang has had ''les chiens écrasés'' “minor news items” since 1881.^(TLFi)

+

+ Derivatives and compounds include [[chenet]] (1287), named for the dogs' heads that decorated andirons, [[chenil]] (1387), [[chiendent]] (1340) and [[chien-loup]] (1775), a calque of English ''wolf-dog''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1195–1200 – Contemptuous use, in the ''Roman de Renart''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1st half of the 13th century – ''Entre chien et leu''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1287 – ''Chenet''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1552 – ''De chien'' in Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''S'accorder comme chien et chat'', ''une vie de chien''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1775 – ''Chien-loup''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1881 – ''Les chiens écrasés''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|dog]]; feminine ''chienne'', a bitch: ''chien de garde'', ''chien de chasse''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(figurative, contemptuous)'' A dog, cur, ''de chien'': wretched: ''un temps de chien''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # The [[m|en|hammer]] (cock) of a firearm.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Entre chien et loup'': at dusk.^(TLFi)

+ # ''(Quebec) Chien de poche'': someone who follows another everywhere.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chienne]]

+ * [[chenet]]

+ * [[chenil]]

+ * [[chiendent]]

+ * [[chien-loup]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[canin]]

+ * [[canaille]]

+ * [[cynique]]

+ * [[la|canis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}