somme French · revision 16785

− The sum is [[bor|la|summa|t=the highest place; total, amount; the whole]],^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|12, 427b) short for a Latin phrase meaning “the top line”, because the Romans added from the bottom up.^(DHLF 1992) It is the noun use of the feminine of [[m|la|summus|t=highest]], the superlative of [[m|la|super|t=above]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Rey treats the Old French forms [[m|fro|sume]] (about 1155) and [[m|fro|some]] as inherited and the spelling with ⟨mm⟩ (13th century) as a remodelling after Latin, Bloch and Wartburg think its senses point to borrowing in all the Romance languages.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The phrase for “in short” is a calque of [[m|la|in summā|t=in all]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

− The ''Pèlerinage de Charlemagne'' (about 1140) has ''some'' for the load a horse or mule can carry, Béroul (late 12th century) uses it for a beast of burden.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)