toile French · revision 16674

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1140, Voyage de Charlemagne (teile)|origins=la texō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /twal/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''toile''' ''f'' (plural toiles)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''teile'' (1140), ''toile'' from the late 12th century; also ''telle'', ''tele'', ''teille''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|teile]], [[inh|la|tēla|t=cloth on the loom; warp; web; plot]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|13/1, 158b)^(Wiktionary) from an older [[m|la|*texla]], from [[m|la|texō|t=to weave]] (see [[tisser]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|tela]], [[pro|tela]], [[ca|tela]], [[es|tela]] and [[pt|teia]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Voyage de Charlemagne'' (about 1140) has ''teile'' for cloth in the simplest weave.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The cloth was at first of linen or hemp, ''toille de soye'' is found in 1453, gold and silver cloth in 1508 and ''toille de cotton'' in 1522.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The ''chanson de toile'' (about 1228) was a medieval genre sung by women at the loom, and ''toile cirée'' “oilcloth” dates from 1230.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Toile de Pénélope'' “an endless task” (1615) alludes to the ''Odyssey''.^(DHLF 1992) The canvas prepared for painting (1604) gave ''toile'' “a painting” (1646); the word was used for a theatre curtain (Regnard, 1688, Dufresny, 1699) and for scenery, whence ''toile de fond'' (Goncourt, 1859), figurative from 1935.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Adenet le Roi (1275) speaks of a spider's web (''toile d'araigne''), and Charron (1601) of a schemer weaving his web.^(TLFi) Other senses include a set of tents (1798), a membrane in anatomy (1538) and a plant disease (1904).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Se mettre dans les toiles'' “to go to bed” is recorded by the Académie in 1718.^(TLFi) In regional French (Normandy, eastern Brittany, Roussillon) ''toile'' is a floorcloth.^(DHLF 1992) ''La Toile'' for the World Wide Web is a calque of English ''Web''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1140 – ''Teile'', ''Voyage de Charlemagne''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1228 – ''Chanson a toile''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1230 – ''Toile cirée''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1275 – ''Toile d'araigne'', Adenet le Roi.^(TLFi)

+ * 1352 – The diminutive [[toilette]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1522 – ''Toille de cotton''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1604 – Canvas for painting.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1615 – ''Toile de Pénélope''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1646 – “A painting”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1859 – ''Toile de fond'', Goncourt.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|cloth]], [[m|en|linen]], a fabric in plain weave: ''toile de lin, de coton, de jute'', ''toile cirée'', oilcloth.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|canvas]]; a painting on canvas: ''une toile de maître''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Toile de fond'': a backdrop, ''(figurative)'' a background.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Toile d'araignée'': a spider's [[m|en|web]], ''(figurative)'' a web of intrigue.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''La Toile'': the World Wide Web.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''Se faire une toile'': to go to the cinema.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(regional)'' A floorcloth.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[toilette]]

+ * [[toilier]]

+ * [[entoiler]]

+ * [[rentoiler]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tisser]]

+ * [[tissu]]

+ * [[texte]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}