chanson French · revision 16730

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɑ̃.sɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chanson''' ''f'' (plural chansons)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''chançun'' (about 1100), ''chançon'', ''chanson'' from the 13th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chançon]], [[inh|la|cantiō|t=song, singing]], an action noun corresponding to [[m|la|canō|t=to sing]] (see [[chanter]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|2, 235a)^(Wiktionary) The other Latin action noun, [[m|la|cantus]], gave [[chant]].^(DHLF 1992) Etymonline traces the root to [[ine-pro|*kan-|t=to sing]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|canzone]], [[oc|canson]], [[ca|cançó]], [[es|canción]] and [[pt|canção]].^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) uses ''chançun'' for a piece of verse to be sung: ''Male chançun n'en deit estre chantée'' “no evil song must be sung of it”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 12th century it also meant a poem, and ''chanson de geste'' was the epic.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) Before the 15th century the ''chanson'' merged with poetry and vocal music; in the 16th century it became the polyphonic song of Attaingnant, Janequin and Marot, then a popular, spontaneous form, and in the 18th century a recognized genre with the Caveau (about 1740–1760), Désaugiers and Béranger.^(DHLF 1992) ''Chanson à boire'' dates from 1671.^(TLFi)

+

+ Figuratively ''chansons'' were idle talk (16th century) and ''c'est toujours la même chanson'' “the same old story” (1608, Régnier).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) Chateaubriand (1803) speaks of the song of a bird, and Vigny (1837) of a flute.^(TLFi) English borrowed ''chanson'' about 1600.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Chançun'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 12th century – “Poem”, ''chanson de geste''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1528 – Attaingnant's ''Chansons nouvelles''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1608 – “The same old story”, Régnier.^(TLFi)

+ * 1671 – ''Chanson à boire''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1803 – The song of a bird, Chateaubriand.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|song]]: ''chanter une chanson'', ''chanson d'amour'', ''chanson populaire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literature)'' ''Chanson de geste'': an Old French epic poem.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The song of a bird; a harmonious sound.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''C'est toujours la même chanson'': it's always the same old story, ''(plural, dated)'' nonsense.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chansonnette]]

+ * [[chansonnier]]

+ * [[chansonner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chanter]]

+ * [[chant]]

+ * [[cantique]]

+ * [[en|chanson]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}