bain French · revision 17067

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1080, Chanson de Roland|origins=grc βαλανεῖον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bain''' ''m'' (plural bains)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*baneum]], an altered form of classical [[la|balneum|t=bathing; bath, (plural) public baths]], also “balineum”, [[bor|grc|βαλανεῖον|tr=balaneîon|t=bathhouse]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|1, 225b) The Greek word, usual in prose, is formed from [[m|grc|βαλανεύς|tr=balaneús|t=bath attendant]], an Attic word with no Indo-European match; it may be a loan from an Aegean language, or be connected with [[m|grc|βάλανος|tr=bálanos|t=acorn; peg]], the peg that stopped the hole of a bathtub.^(DHLF 1992) In modern French “bain” is felt as an irregular noun from [[baigner]], although that verb comes from a Latin derivative of “balneum”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|bagno]], [[oc|banh]], [[ca|bany]], [[es|baño]] and [[pt|banho]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) [[bagne]] is a doublet, from Italian.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1080) ''bains'' in the plural are a bathing place: the baths of Aix that God made for Charlemagne, ''vos bains que pour vous Deus i fist''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Bains'' long named the room of a house or palace for bathing, until ''salle de bains'' replaced it, and, from the late 11th century a public bathhouse; later also a spa or seaside resort (1680).^(DHLF 1992) The singular ''bain'' is the act of bathing and the water one bathes in from about 1155, and the tub itself from 1525.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Furetière (1690) records the technical sense of a liquid in which something is dipped or heated, already present in [[bain-marie]] (14th century), a term of alchemy that probably refers to Mary the Jewess, sister of Moses, to whom alchemical works were attributed.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) ''Bain de soleil'' dates from 1860.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) In African French ''bain'' is also a wash with splashed water, and in Maghreb French ''bains-douches'' means a hammam.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1080 – ''Bains'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1155 – The act of bathing; the water.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 14th century – ''Baing-marie'' in an alchemical text.^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1525 – The bathtub.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1680 – A spa; a bathing place.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – A liquid for dipping, Furetière.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1860 – ''Bain de soleil''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|bath]]: dipping the body or part of it in water or another liquid, to wash or heal: ''prendre un bain'', ''bain de pieds'', ''salle de bains''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The bath water: ''faire couler un bain''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A [[m|en|swim]], a dip: ''bain de mer''; the pool of a swimming bath: ''le grand bain''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Bain de soleil'': [[m|en|sunbathing]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(figurative)'' An immersion: ''bain de foule'', ''être dans le bain'', to be involved in something.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''Envoyer qqn au bain'': to send someone packing.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(plural)'' Public baths; a spa.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(technical)'' A liquid in which something is dipped: photographic or chemical bath.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bain-marie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[baigner]]

+ * [[baignoire]]

+ * [[bagne]]

+ * [[balnéaire]]

+ * [[la|balneum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}