voie French · revision 16706

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (veie)|origins=la via}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vwa/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /vwɑ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''voie''' ''f'' (plural voies)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''veie'' (11th century), ''voie'' from about 1175.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ The Académie wrote ''voye'' in 1694 and 1718, ''voie'' from 1740.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|veie]], [[inh|la|via|t=way, road, street; journey; method]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|14, 371a)^(Wiktionary) In Latin the word was the road as opposed to [[m|la|sēmita|t=path]] (see [[sente]]), and it also had the figurative sense “way to follow, method”, matching [[grc|ὁδός|tr=hodós|t=road]] in [[méthode]].^(DHLF 1992) Rey connects it with the Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*weǵʰ-|t=to move, carry]], also behind [[véhicule]] and [[en|way]]; the Petit Robert names a root [[ine-pro|*wei-|t=to go]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The phrase [[m|la|via rupta]] gave [[route]].^(DHLF 1992) The learned [[via]] is its doublet; the word has no connection with [[voir]].^(Wiktionary)

+

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

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has ''veie'' for the way one follows to go somewhere, as in ''Entre en sa veie, si s'est acheminez'' “he set out on his way”, and for a road.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old phrases such as ''en la veie se metre'' “to set out” (1140) and ''se mettre en voie'' (La Fontaine, 1665) have disappeared.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From the 12th century the word took the figurative sense of Latin ''via'', a course of conduct, especially in religion: the Oxford Psalter speaks of ''la veie des justes'' and of a ''male veie'', and ''la voie étroite'' was the hard road to heaven.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It also meant “way of proceeding” (about 1120), the source of ''voie de fait'' “assault” (1378), ''par la voie de'' and, later, ''mettre quelqu'un sur la voie'' (Corneille, 1656) and ''ouvrir la voie'' (1611).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Concrete senses multiplied with techniques: the Roman roads (''voye Appia'', 1510), ''voie publique'' (1690), mining galleries (1776–77), railways (''voies de fer'', 1828, ''voie ferrée''), and the route of a climb (1868).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) In hunting it is the track of an animal (13th century).^(GLLF 1989) ''Voie lactée'' (1640) is a calque of [[la|lacteus orbis]]; most dialects call it the ''chemin de Saint-Jacques''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Veie'' “way; road”, ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1120 – Figurative “course of conduct; way of proceeding”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1175 – The form ''voie''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1378 – ''Voie de fait''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1510 – ''Voye Appia''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1640 – ''Voie lactée''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1656 – ''Mettre quelqu'un sur la voie'', Corneille.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''Voie publique'', Furetière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1828 – ''Voies de fer''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1830 – The derivative [[voyou]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1868 – A climbing route.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|way]], route, passage leading somewhere: ''se frayer une voie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A road, thoroughfare: ''la voie publique'', ''voie express''; a [[m|en|lane]] of a road: ''route à trois voies''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Voie ferrée'': railway line; the track: ''traverser les voies''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Voie d'eau'': a waterway; also a [[m|en|leak]] in a ship's hull.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' A passage in the body: ''les voies respiratoires'', ''par voie orale''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A course, path in life; a means or way of proceeding: ''trouver sa voie'', ''par la voie hiérarchique'', ''en voie de guérison''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Voie de fait'': an act of violence, [[m|en|assault]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Mettre sur la voie'': to put on the right track, ''(hunting)'' the track of game.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Voie lactée'': the [[m|en|Milky Way]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[voyou]]

+ * [[dévoyer]]

+ * [[fourvoyer]]

+ * [[envoyer]]

+ * [[convoyer]]

+ * [[contre-voie]]

+ * [[voyette]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[via]]

+ * [[voyage]]

+ * [[route]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}