vol French · revision 16648

+ French has two nouns spelled ''vol'', “flight”, from [[voler]] “to fly”, and “theft”, from ''voler'' “to steal”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

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+ {{homograph|1|flight}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1172–1190, Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval|origins=la volō}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vɔl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vol''' ''m'' (plural vols)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The flight is a deverbal noun from [[voler]] “to fly”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) That verb is from [[la|volō|t=to fly]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

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+ Compare [[oc|vol]], [[es|vuelo]], [[pt|voo]] and [[it|volo]].^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Chrétien de Troyes's ''Perceval'' (1172–90) uses it for a bird's flight; the ''Roncevaux'' has ''Il prit son vol'' of a sparrowhawk.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''De plein vol'' “straight, directly” is in ''Renart'' (1205–50), and ''prendre son vol'' (13th century) became figurative: ''Prends ton vol, mon petit livre'' (d'Aubigné, about 1580).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) By metonymy it is a bird's wingspan (13th century), two wings in heraldry (1611), hawking (1373–76) and a flock of birds (1530).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From falconry come ''haut vol'' and ''bas vol'' (1450–86) and ''de haut vol'' “of high standing”, now said of a big-time swindler (1788).^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ''À vol d'oiseau'' “as the crow flies” dates from 1771.^(DHLF 1992) In the 19th century aeronautics gave ''vol à voile'' and ''vol ramé'' (1864) and ''vol plané'' (1869), and in the 20th the flight of an aircraft: ''vol Paris–New York''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1172–1190 – A bird's flight, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1205–1250 – ''De plein vol''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1376 – Hawking, ''Modus et Ratio''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1530 – A flock of birds, Palsgrave.^(TLFi)

+ * 1771 – ''À vol d'oiseau''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1869 – ''Vol plané''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|flight]] of birds or insects: ''prendre son vol'', ''en plein vol'', ''au vol'', in flight.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The flight of an aircraft, ''vol à voile'', gliding.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A flock: ''un vol de canards''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''À vol d'oiseau'': as the crow flies.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''De haut vol'': of high standing, big-time.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ {{homograph|2|theft}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=1610|origins=la volō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vɔl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vol''' ''m'' (plural vols)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The theft is a deverbal noun from the verb voler “to steal”, replacing [[volement]] (1594).^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) That verb is the same as the verb “to fly”: it developed in falconry, in phrases such as “ce faucon vole la perdrix” “this falcon flies at the partridge”, and became usual in the second half of the 16th century (1549, Bloch and Wartburg).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg compare the development of [[la|involō|t=to fly at; to steal]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Histoire de la navigation'' of Jean Hugues de Linscot (1610) uses it for taking another's property.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Corneille (1635) uses it figuratively, and Molière (1668) for the thing stolen.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Furetière (1690) has ''vol qualifié'' and ''vol domestique'', and the sense of cheating someone, especially in trade, as in ''c'est du vol !'' “that's daylight robbery!”.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) ''Vol à la tire'' “pickpocketing” is recorded in 1832, and ''vol à l'américaine'' in Littré (1872).^(GLLF 1989)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1594 – ''Volement''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1610 – ''Vol'' “theft”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1635 – Figurative use, Corneille.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1668 – The thing stolen, Molière.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1690 – ''Vol qualifié'', ''c'est du vol''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1832 – ''Vol à la tire''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|theft]], robbery: ''commettre un vol'', ''vol à main armée'', ''vol avec effraction'', ''vol à l'étalage''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something stolen: ''un vol de bijoux''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Overcharging, cheating: ''c'est du vol !''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[volatile]]

+ * [[voler]]

+ * [[voleur]]

+ * [[volée]]

+ * [[envol]]

+ * [[la|volō]]

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}