sein French · revision 16722

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1121–34, Philippe de Thaon, Bestiaire|origins=la sinus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sein''' ''m'' (plural seins)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''sein'', ''sain''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|sein]], [[inh|la|sinus|t=curve, fold; fold of the toga across the chest; bosom; bay]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|11, 650b)^(Wiktionary) The fold of the toga, gathered over the shoulder, was where women carried their child, hence the Latin figurative sense “bosom, breast”; the word also meant “refuge” and, in phrases, “the inside of” ([[m|la|in sinū urbis|t=in the heart of the city]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) In Christian Latin the bosom of Abraham (Luke 16:22) and the bosom of the Church are [[m|la|sinus Abrahae]] and [[m|la|sinus ecclesiae]].^(TLFi) The Latin word has no known etymology.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) It is a doublet of the learned [[sinus]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|sân]], [[it|seno]], [[oc|sen]], [[ca|si]], [[es|seno]] and [[pt|seio]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Philippe de Thaon's ''Bestiaire'' (1121–34) uses it for the part of the garment covering the chest, the space between chest and clothing.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) The same text has ''el sein saint Abraam'' “in the bosom of Abraham”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1150–60 it named the front of the human chest, often as the seat of feeling, the usual sense in the classical period when ''poitrine'' was rare.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Already about 1155–74 Wace speaks of the earth that fed him “in its bosom”, and ''au sein de'' “in the midst of” is in Du Bellay (1558).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From about 1200 ''sein'' meant a woman's chest, and in the 16th century each of her breasts (''ces femmes qui ont si grans sains'', early 16th century); the plural ''les seins'' became common only in the 19th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Donner le sein'' “to breastfeed” is recorded in 1802, and the word is used of the womb in literary language (1682).^(TLFi)

+

+ In the 16th century it took further Latin senses by learned borrowing: “gulf” (''le Sein Arabique'', 1534) and the belly of a sail (1564, ''sein d'une voile'', 1702).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1121–34 – Part of the clothing over the chest, ''le sein d'Abraham''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – The front of the chest, seat of the feelings, ''Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – A woman's chest.^(TLFi)

+ * 1534 – “Gulf”, ''le Sein Arabique''.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 16th century – A woman's breast.^(TLFi)

+ * 1558 – ''Au sein de'', Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1681 – ''Le sein de l'Église'', Bossuet.^(TLFi)

+ * 1802 – ''Donner le sein''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A woman's [[m|en|breast]]: ''donner le sein'', to breastfeed.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' The front of the chest, [[m|en|bosom]]; the heart, as the seat of feelings: ''serrer quelqu'un contre son sein''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(literary)'' The [[m|en|womb]].^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Le sein de Dieu'': heaven, ''le sein de l'Église'', the communion of the faithful.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Au sein de'': in the midst of, within: ''au sein de l'entreprise''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(literary)'' The inner part, depths: ''le sein de la terre''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sénologie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sinus]]

+ * [[sinueux]]

+ * [[insinuer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}