grand-mère French · revision 17096

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1265, Jean de Meun|origins=fr grand, fr mère}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʁɑ̃.mɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''grand-mère''' ''f'' (plural grands-mères or grand-mères)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Grandemere'' (1529); also ''grand'mère'', and in tales ''mère-grand'' (Palsgrave, 1530).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|grand|mère]], with “grand” in the old sense “aged”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The old form “grand” without “-e” continues the Old French adjective, which had one form for both genders (see [[grand]]); hence the older spelling ''grand'mère''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The GLLF dates the word to Jean de Meun (about 1265), and Bloch and Wartburg place the kinship compounds in ''grand-'' from the 12th century; the TLFi's first dated example, ''grandemere'', is from 1529.^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like ''grand-père'', it gradually replaced [[aïeule]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The familiar sense “old woman” is in Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (before 1741).^(GLLF 1989) The older ''mère-grand'' survives in fairy tales.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1265 – First recorded, Jean de Meun.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1529 – ''Grandemere''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1530 – ''Mère-grand'', Palsgrave.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * before 1741 – “Old woman”, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|grandmother]]: the mother of one's father or mother, ''grand-mère maternelle''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' An old woman.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grand-père]]

+ * [[grand]]

+ * [[mère]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural is ''grands-mères'' or ''grand-mères''.^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}