épais French · revision 16917

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1080, Chanson de Roland|origins=la spissus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /e.pɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''épais''' (feminine épaisse, masculine plural épais, feminine plural épaisses)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|espes]], still used in the 17th century, beside [[m|fro|espeis]], [[m|fro|espois]] (about 1200); ''épes'' in Monet (1636), ''épais'' in Richelet (1680).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|espes]], [[inh|la|spissus|t=thick, dense, compact]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) The modern form comes from the variant [[m|fro|espeis]], [[m|fro|espois]], in a development like that of [[roide]] to [[raide]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) That variant arose from a crossing of the older form with the noun [[m|fro|espeisse|t=thickness]], from [[la-vul|*spissia]], and the verb [[m|fro|espeissier|t=to thicken]], from [[m|la-vul|*spissiō]], classical [[m|la|spissō|t=to thicken]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|spesso]], [[es|espeso]] and [[pro|espes]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) Littré gives [[wa|spès]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first used as a noun: in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (1080) ''al plus espes'' is the thickest part of the battle.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun use survives in ''au plus épais de'' (the forest, the fight), but Old French ''une espesse'' “a crowd” (about 1155) and ''un espés'' “a thicket” (about 1225) have died out.^(DHLF 1992) The adjective “dense, compact” is in Wace (about 1150, ''espesse pluie''), whence the adverb in ''semer épais'' “to sow thickly” (1538); by about 1160 it was also said of a solid, a wall, measured in its third dimension.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ It was said of a gas or vapour from the 15th century and of a liquid lacking fluidity from the 14th or 16th century (''bouillie épaisse'').^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) In the 16th century it described a heavy, massive build (before 1564, Calvin), and Miège (1677) has ''un homme épais'' for a person lacking finesse, a use much more common in Canada, where ''épais'' means a dull, coarse, tiresome person.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1080 – ''Al plus espes'' “in the thick (of the fight)”, in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1150 – ''Espesse pluie'' “dense rain”, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Mur espès'', in the ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – The variant ''espeis'', ''espois''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1377 – The noun [[épaisseur]] replaces Old French ''espoisse''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1538 – ''Semer épais''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1677 – ''Un homme épais'', in Miège.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – The spelling ''épais'', in Richelet.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|thick|alt=Thick]], large in its third dimension (opposed to ''mince''): ''un mur épais'', ''une couche épaisse de deux centimètres''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Heavy, squat, massive in shape: ''des mains épaisses'', ''il n'est pas épais'', he is thin.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # [[m|en|dense|alt=Dense]], close-packed: ''un brouillard épais''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Of a liquid, thick, not runny: ''une bouillie épaisse''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Dull, coarse, lacking finesse, ''(Quebec, informal)'' stupid.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Thickly, densely: ''semer épais''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[épaisseur]]

+ * [[épaississement]]

+ * [[épaissir]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|spissus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}