cheveu French · revision 16439

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (chevels)|origins=la capillus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃə.vø/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ʃfø/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (France): /ʃø.vø/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cheveu''' ''m'' (plural cheveux)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|chevel]], subject case ''chevels'', ''cheveus'', ''cheveu'' from the 15th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chevel]], [[inh|la|capillus|t=hair of the head; the hair]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 247b)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word, which first meant the whole head of hair, has no certain etymology; links with [[m|la|caput|t=head]] and [[m|la|pilus|t=hair]] are doubtful.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It supplanted [[m|la|crīnis]] (see [[crin]]).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) South of a line from the Vendée to French-speaking Switzerland, most Gallo-Romance dialects say “poil” instead.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|capello]], [[pro|cabel]], [[ca|cabell]], [[es|cabello]] and [[pt|cabelo]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the middle of the 11th century in the ''Vie de saint Alexis'', as the plural ''chevels''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''En cheveux'' “bareheaded” (15th century) recalls a time when a hat or coif was expected; in the 19th century it was said of working-class women.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Figurative phrases include ''prendre l'occasion aux cheveux'' (1558), ''faire dresser les cheveux'' (before 1630), and ''fendre un cheveu en deux'' (1690), now ''couper les cheveux en quatre''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Poets spoke of ''les verds cheveux du boccage'' (Du Bellay), and botany has ''cheveux de Vénus'' (1556).^(TLFi) Derivatives include [[chevelure]] (about 1080), [[chevelu]] (12th century) and [[échevelé]] (11th century).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Chevels'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1080 – ''Chevelure'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 15th century – ''En cheveux'' “bareheaded”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1558 – ''Empoigner l'occasion aux cheveux'', in Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''Fendre un cheveu en deux'', in Furetière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|hair]] of the head, ''les cheveux'': the hair: ''se couper les cheveux''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Couper les cheveux en quatre'': to split hairs.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Il s'en est fallu d'un cheveu'': it was a close shave, ''avoir un cheveu sur la langue'': to lisp.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # ''Cheveux d'ange'': angel-hair pasta; tinsel.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chevelu]]

+ * [[chevelure]]

+ * [[échevelé]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[capillaire]]

+ * [[crin]]

+ * [[la|capillus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}