gamin French · revision 16598

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1765, Encyclopédie}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡa.mɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gamin''' ''m'' (plural gamins, feminine gamine)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|21, 449a) The word belonged mainly to the dialects of eastern France, and Bloch and Wartburg, followed by the TLFi and the GLLF, suggest that it was formed there, perhaps in Lorraine, on a Germanic stem “gamm-”, as in [[gsw|gammel|t=noisy merriment; gangling youth, good-for-nothing]], francized with the suffix [[-in]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Pierre Guiraud proposed instead [[oc|gamo|t=rickety, stunted]], from the idea of a frail apprentice.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Littré wondered about a “*gambin” from [[m|fro|gambe|t=leg]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Encyclopédie'' (1765, article ''Verrerie'') uses it for a glassblower's young assistant.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It then meant a boy who works as an assistant or errand boy, as in Balzac, and, from 1803–05 a little boy who spends his time larking about in the streets, the ''gamin de Paris'' or ''gamin des rues''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The feminine ''gamine'' “mischievous little girl” appears in 1836 (Dumersan's ''La Gamine de Paris''), and the adjective ''gamin'' “playful, impish” in 1844.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Today it is a familiar word for any child, and with a possessive for one's son or daughter (Zola, 1883).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1765 – A glassblower's assistant, ''Encyclopédie''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1803 – A little boy, Boiste.^(TLFi)

+ * 1805 – A street urchin, Pauline Beyle.^(TLFi)

+ * 1836 – ''Gamine'', Dumersan.^(TLFi)

+ * 1838 – The derivative ''gaminerie''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1883 – One's child, Zola.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(familiar)'' A [[m|en|kid]], child: ''un gamin de dix ans'', ''une gamine''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' One's son or daughter: ''il est venu avec son gamin''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(dated)'' A street urchin: ''gamin de Paris''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Playful, mischievous, impish: ''un air gamin''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gaminerie]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}