larme French · revision 17142

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (lermes)|origins=la lacrima}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /laʁm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''larme''' ''f'' (plural larmes)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''lerme'', ''lairme'' (about 1050); ''larme'', influenced by the Latin form, about 1196 (Jean Bodel).^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|lerme]], [[inh|la|lacrima|t=tear; drop of gum]], older “lacruma” and “dacruma”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|5, 118b)^(Wiktionary) Rey thinks the Latin word was probably borrowed, first in poetry, from [[grc|δάκρυμα|tr=dákruma|t=what is wept]], from [[m|grc|δάκρυ|tr=dákru|t=tear]]; the word is Indo-European, with counterparts in Celtic, Armenian and Germanic, such as [[got|𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂|tr=tagr]] and [[en|tear]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary gives [[ine-pro|*dáḱru-]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Compare [[pro|lagrema]], [[ca|llàgrima]], [[es|lágrima]] and [[it|lagrima]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has ''lermes'', the liquid flowing from the eye.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Set phrases appear early: ''chaldes lermes'' (about 1170) and ''plorer a chaudes lermes'' (1180–1200), ''en larmes fondre'' (early 13th century), ''larmes de cocodrile'' (1560), ''la lerme a l'œil'' (about 1501, Quemada finds ''la larme à l'œil'' in the ''Satyre Ménippée'', 1595).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) Figuratively it meant sorrow in ''la valede de lermes'' (Oxford Psalter), from the ''Salve Regina''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From the early 13th century it was a drop, a small quantity, now familiar in ''une larme de cognac''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It also named a tear-shaped ornament (about 1462), a pearl (1483), sap (''larme de la vigne'', 1538) and a drop of resin (1575).^(TLFi) Chateaubriand's ''larmes du matin'' (1803) are dew.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Lermes'', ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1180 – ''Plorer a chaudes lermes''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1196 – The form ''larme'', Jean Bodel.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * early 13th century – A drop.^(TLFi)

+ * 1560 – ''Larmes de cocodrile''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1595 – ''La larme à l'œil''.^(BHVF)

+ * 1746 – ''Toutes les larmes de son corps''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|tear]]: ''fondre en larmes'', ''pleurer à chaudes larmes'', ''rire aux larmes'', ''larmes de crocodile''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' Grief, sorrow: ''une vallée de larmes''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(familiar)'' A drop, a tiny amount: ''une larme de lait''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Avoir la larme à l'œil'': to be on the verge of tears.^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A tear-shaped drop of sap or resin; a tear-shaped ornament.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[larmoyer]]

+ * [[larmoyant]]

+ * [[larmier]]

+ * [[larmer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lacrymal]]

+ * [[pleur]]

+ * [[la|lacrima]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}