fruit French · revision 16847

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Vie de saint Léger|origins=la fruor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fʁɥi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fruit''' ''m'' (plural fruits)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|frūctus|t=enjoyment; produce, revenue; fruits of the earth]],^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 823b) from [[m|la|fruor|t=to enjoy, have the use of]];^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) the TLFi calls it a borrowing.^(TLFi) Its abstract sense was kept alive by written and Church Latin, as in “le fruit de tes entrailles” (Luke 1:42).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) French gave it the sense of classical [[m|la|pōmum|t=fruit of a tree]], which was narrowed to [[pomme]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey compares Germanic words such as [[ang|brūcan|t=to use]], which point to a root [[ine-pro|*bʰrug-]], also in [[m|la|frūgēs|t=fruits of the earth]] (compare [[frugal]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|fruct]], [[it|frutto]], [[oc|fruch]], [[ca|fruit]], [[es|fruto]] and [[pt|fruta]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Léger'' (10th century) has ''fruit esperitiel'', “spiritual fruit”, a beneficial result.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “profit drawn from something” (1120–1150) came the old ''faire du fruit'' (1580) and the phrases ''sans fruit'' “in vain” (1643) and ''avec fruit'' “profitably”; by extension it is the effect, good or bad, of something (about 1225).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) A child is the ''fruit'' of generation in the ''Roman de Troie'' (about 1165), after Church Latin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The legal sense “revenue”, in the plural, was taken from Latin law in the 16th century.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The concrete sense, what a plant produces after the flower, is also in the ''Roman de Troie'' (about 1165), and the edible fruit is recorded in 1690; it was also the dessert (1580).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Fruits de mer'' “seafood” appears before 1798, in the French version of Casanova's memoirs, probably after [[it|frutti di mare]].^(TLFi) [[fruitier]] is from the 15th century and [[fruiterie]] in its modern sense from 1611.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – ''Fruit esperitiel'' in the ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1120–1150 – “Profit”.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – The fruit of a plant; a child, in the ''Roman de Troie''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1225 – The effect of something.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1611 – ''Fruiterie''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1643 – ''Sans fruit''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – Edible fruit.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Before 1798 – ''Fruits de mer''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(botany)'' A [[m|en|fruit]], the organ that follows the flower and contains the seeds.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # An edible fruit, ''fruits'' (collectively), fruit.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Fruits de mer'': [[m|en|seafood]], shellfish.^(TLFi)

+ # ''(figurative)'' The result, product, reward of something, ''avec fruit'', profitably, ''sans fruit'', in vain.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(literary)'' A child, offspring: ''le fruit de ses entrailles''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ # ''(law, plural)'' Revenue, income from property.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fruitier]]

+ * [[fruiterie]]

+ * [[fruitage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[frugal]]

+ * [[fructifier]]

+ * [[pomme]]

+ * [[la|fructus]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate noun ''fruit'' (1680, Richelet), the batter of a wall, its slight inward slope, is an alteration of ''frit'', ''frid'' (1576), perhaps under the influence of [[effriter]].^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}