château French · revision 16765

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃa.to/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ʃɑ.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''château''' ''m'' (plural châteaux)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|chastel]], with the nominative and plural ''chastaus'' (1174), from which ''château'' was formed.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi) The Académie wrote ''chasteau'' in 1694 and 1718, ''château'' from 1740.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chastel]], [[inh|la|castellum|t=redoubt; water tower; in Medieval Latin, citadel, fortified town]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) a diminutive of [[m|la|castrum|t=fortified place, camp]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Rey and the Petit Robert relate that noun to [[m|la|castrō|t=to cut]] (see [[châtrer]]), with the idea of a place cut off.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) [[pro|castel]] “fortified village” is found at the end of the 10th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The Latin word passed into many languages: [[it|castello]], [[es|castillo]], [[pt|castelo]], [[ro|castel]], [[de|Kastell]] and [[en|castle]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary) [[en|chateau]] was borrowed from French about 1739.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has the plural ''chastels'' for fortified places, citadels: ''prent i chastels e alquantes citez''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the Middle Ages the building was any fortress; the phrase ''château fort'' dates only from the medieval fashion of the 19th century (Académie, 1835).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) ''Partenopeus de Blois'' (before 1188) already uses it for a large and fine dwelling, and with the Renaissance that idea prevailed, giving a royal residence (Nicot, 1606) and so “the Court” (Stendhal, 1836), and a lord's residence (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''Faire des châteaux en Espagne'' “to build castles in the air” is in Guillaume de Lorris (about 1236); Bloch and Wartburg link it to the epics, in which knights were given castles in Spain they first had to conquer.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) ''Château de cartes'' is in Scarron (1651), and ''château d'eau'' “water tower” in the ''Dictionnaire de Trévoux'' (1704).^(TLFi) Early technical senses are a ship's castle (1165–70) and a castle in heraldry (about 1275).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 10th century – Old Occitan ''castel''.^(TLFi)

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

+ * 1165–70 – A ship's castle, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)

+ * Before 1188 – “Fine residence”, ''Partenopeus de Blois''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1236 – ''Faire chastiaus en Espaigne'', Guillaume de Lorris.^(TLFi)

+ * 1606 – A royal residence, Nicot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1651 – ''Châteaux de cartes'', Scarron.^(TLFi)

+ * 1704 – ''Château d'eau''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1835 – ''Château fort'' in the Académie.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|castle]], a fortified feudal dwelling, ''château fort''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A royal or lordly residence; a large country house, a [[m|en|manor]]: ''les châteaux de la Loire'', ''la vie de château'', a life of idle luxury.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A wine-growing estate, especially in Bordeaux.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Château d'eau'': a [[m|en|water tower]].^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Château de cartes'': a house of cards, ''châteaux en Espagne'', castles in the air.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(nautical)'' The castle of a ship, ''(heraldry)'' a castle.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[châtelet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[châtelain]]

+ * [[castel]]

+ * [[châtrer]]

+ * [[la|castellum]]

+ * [[en|castle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}