montre French · revision 16879

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=c. 1120, Psautier d'Oxford|origins=la moneo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɔ̃tʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''montre''' ''f'' (plural montres)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|mostre]], [[m|fro|monstre]];^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi) ''monstre'' in the Académie dictionary of 1694, ''montre'' from 1740.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a deverbal noun [[der|fr|montrer]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873) The verb, first [[m|fro|mostrer]], continues the popular form [[la-vul|mostrō]], beside written [[m|la|mōnstrō|t=to show]], from [[m|la|mōnstrum]] (see [[monstre]]); the ⟨n⟩ was restored after the Latin.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The sense “watch” is a specialization of the older “thing that shows”: the dial that showed the hours was called by this name, which passed to the portable clock.^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ Compare [[it|mostra]], [[es|muestra]] and [[pro|mostra]], which had the sense “clock dial” before 1450.^(Littré 1873)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Oxford Psalter (about 1120) has ''monstres'' for the wonders of the Lord; about 1210 the ''Dolopathos'' has ''mostre'' in the sense “example, model”.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In commerce it was the part of the goods shown to judge the rest, a sample (1350), and by metonymy the cup for tasting wine (1397); it named a fair (1267), a warehouse (1530) and the glass case where goods were displayed (1611), whence ''en montre'' “in the window”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In the army it was a review of troops (1376) and the soldiers' pay (1570).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The abstract sense, the act of showing oneself (about 1278), lives on in ''faire montre de'' “to display” (1549).^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ From the dial of a clock (1474) it came to mean a portable timepiece (''monstre d'horloge'', 1529–1531, ''monstre'', 1537, ''montre'', 1595).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) Phrases include ''montre à répétition'' (1694), ''montre de poche'' (1690), ''montre-bracelet'' (1922), ''montre en main'' “exactly timed” (1826) and the cyclists' ''course contre la montre'' “time trial” (about 1930).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1120 – ''Monstre'', in the Oxford Psalter.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1210 – ''Mostre'' “example, model”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1267 – A fair.^(TLFi)

+ * 1350 – A sample of goods.^(TLFi)

+ * 1376 – A review of troops.^(TLFi)

+ * 1474 – The dial of a clock.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1549 – ''Faire montre de''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1595 – ''Montre'' “watch”.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1922 – ''Montre-bracelet''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1930 – ''Course contre la montre''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|watch]], wristwatch: ''regarder sa montre'', ''montre de poche''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Contre la montre'': against the clock, ''course contre la montre'', a time trial, ''montre en main'', exactly timed.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Faire montre de'': to show, display: ''faire montre de son talent''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(dated)'' A display, a showcase, ''en montre'', in the window.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(literary)'' Show, ostentation: ''pour la montre'', for appearances.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bracelet-montre]]

+ * [[montre-bracelet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[montrer]]

+ * [[démontrer]]

+ * [[monstre]]

+ * [[remontrance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}