bébé French · revision 17228

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=onomatopoeia|attested=1793 (isolated); c. 1755 as a nickname}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /be.be/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bébé''' ''m'' (plural bébés)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is disputed.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey and Bloch and Wartburg take it as a French nursery formation, of onomatopoeic origin, related to dialect words such as “babi” (Bas-Maine), “bibi” (Picardy, Centre) and “bobée” (Reims), with the vowel varying from “bab-” as in [[babiller]] and [[babine]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Robert dictionaries and the GLLF derive it from [[en|baby]], which Bloch and Wartburg think only helped it spread.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey calls it a native formation that is culturally an anglicism: it gained ground in the 19th century as a gallicised form of “baby” (1842), fashionable in high society together with “nurse”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It was first a nickname: King Stanislas Leszczyński of Poland, exiled in Lorraine, called his famous dwarf Nicolas Ferry (1739–1764) ''Bébé'', ''mon bébé'' as a term of endearment is recorded in 1793.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a common noun “small child” it is established from the middle of the 19th century (the Goncourts, 1858); it first meant a young child of up to six or seven, as the ''costume de bébé'' worn at fancy-dress balls shows, then especially an infant (late 19th century).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) It named a doll in the form of a baby (1866–80), a sense taken over by ''baigneur''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) After English it is used of young animals (''bébé phoque'', about 1960); ''bébé-éprouvette'' (1947) is a test-tube baby, and ''jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain'' is a calque of English.^(DHLF 1992) ''Bébé!'' addressed to an adult, as a term of affection, is found in Labiche (1875).^(BHVF) The word spread to [[es|bebé]] and [[pt|bebé]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1755 – ''Bébé'', nickname of Stanislas's dwarf.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1793 – ''Mon bébé'', a term of endearment.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1842 – English ''baby'' in French.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1858 – “Small child”, the Goncourts.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1866 – A doll.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1875 – Said to an adult, Labiche.^(BHVF)

+ * 1947 – ''Bébé de l'éprouvette''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|baby]]: ''attendre un bébé'', to be expecting.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' A babyish person: ''faire le bébé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # The young of an animal: ''un bébé phoque''.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(familiar)'' A tricky task: ''refiler le bébé à quelqu'un''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(familiar)'' Darling, baby (to an adult).^(BHVF)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(dated)'' A baby doll.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(familiar)'' Childish: ''elle est restée très bébé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[babiller]]

+ * [[babine]]

+ * [[en|baby]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}