lait French · revision 16685

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=first half of the 12th century, Oxford Psalter|origins=la lac}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lait''' ''m'' (countable and uncountable, plural laits)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-lat|lactem]], the accusative of a masculine or feminine form of the classical neuter [[m|la|lac|alt=lac, lactis|t=milk; milky sap of plants]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|5, 110a) The Latin word is related to [[grc|γάλα|tr=gála|alt=γάλα, γάλακτος]] (see [[galaxie]]), but has no counterpart in the other Indo-European languages, which have various words for milk.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Wiktionary reconstructs [[ine-pro|*ǵlákts]].^(Wiktionary) In the north-east and east of the Gallo-Romance area the dialects use a form going back to a diminutive [[m|la-vul|*lacticellus]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|lapte]], [[it|latte]], [[pro|lach]], [[ca|llet]], [[es|leche]] and [[pt|leite]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) uses it for the liquid secreted by the mammary glands.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Two contexts shaped its phrases.^(DHLF 1992) Motherhood gave ''frère, sœur de lait'' “foster brother, sister” (Robert Estienne, 1538; compare Old French ''mère de lait'' “wet nurse”), ''dent de lait'' (1549) and ''fièvre de lait'' (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Farming and food gave ''aigniel de lait'' (about 1256), ''vache à lait'' (1549; figuratively, a person one exploits, 1561), ''petit lait'' “whey” (1552), ''lait de poule'' (1751) and ''lait concentré'' (1873).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Avaler doux comme lait'' (1579) and ''boire du petit lait'' (1948) mean “to lap up praise”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Du Bellay (1558) has it figuratively for the first food of the mind.^(TLFi) By likeness, it names the white sap of plants and almond milk (13th century), the cosmetic ''laict virginal'' (Cotgrave, 1611) and plants with milky sap (1599).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) In Belgian French ''lait battu'' is buttermilk, and ''lait ribot'' is a western regional name for it.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 12th century – Milk, Oxford Psalter.^(TLFi)

+ * 13th century – ''Lait d'amandes''; the sap of plants.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1256 – ''Aigniel de lait''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – ''Frère, sœur de lait''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1549 – ''Dent de lait'', ''vache à lait''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1552 – ''Petit lait''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1558 – Figurative “first food of the mind”, Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1751 – ''Lait de poule''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1873 – ''Lait concentré''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1948 – ''Boire du petit lait''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|milk]], the liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals; cow's milk as food: ''lait entier, écrémé, en poudre'', ''café au lait''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Frère, sœur de lait'': foster brother, sister, ''dent de lait'', milk tooth, ''cochon de lait'', sucking pig.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Vache à lait'': a [[m|en|milch cow]], ''(figurative)'' a person who is exploited.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A milky liquid: ''lait d'amande'', ''lait de coco''; a cosmetic lotion: ''lait démaquillant''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+ # ''Boire du petit lait'': to lap up praise, ''soupe au lait'', quick-tempered.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[laitage]]

+ * [[laitance]]

+ * [[laiterie]]

+ * [[laiteux]]

+ * [[laitier]]

+ * [[petit-lait]]

+ * [[laite]]

+ * [[laiteron]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lact-]]

+ * [[lacto-]]

+ * [[lacté]]

+ * [[laitue]]

+ * [[galaxie]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}