nu French · revision 17260

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la nūdus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ny/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nu''' (feminine nue, masculine plural nus, feminine plural nues)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''nud'', ''nut'' and ''nu'' (1080).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|nu]], [[inh|la|nūdus|t=unclothed; stripped of; bare, plain]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|7, 228a) Rey notes that Latin “nūdus” was sometimes used like [[grc|γυμνός|tr=gumnós]] for “lightly clad” and “unadorned”, and that it continues an Indo-European adjective also seen in [[cu|нагъ|tr=nagŭ]] and [[lt|nuogas]]; the Petit Robert compares the Germanic form behind [[en|naked]] and [[de|nackt]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Wiktionary gives [[ine-pro|*nogʷós]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|nudo]], [[pro|nut]], [[ca|nu]] and [[pt|nu]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) the first record, ''os nut'', means bones stripped of flesh; the same poem has a sword drawn from its scabbard: ''Durendal sa bone espée nue''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Unclothed” is found early in the 12th century, often strengthened as ''tout nu'' (1530) or ''nu comme un ver'' (about 1278); by extension it meant poorly dressed (1176–81), now archaic.^(DHLF 1992) A horse without saddle or harness was ''nu'' (1590), and the unaided eye gave ''à œil nud'' (1690), later ''à l'œil nu''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Of things it means bare, unadorned (Wace, 1155): bare land (1609), a sparsely furnished room (1690), and, from the 16th century plain, stripped of ornament, of truth (1547) and of style (1549).^(DHLF 1992) ''À nu'' dates from 1174–76.^(DHLF 1992) As a noun ''le nu'' (1535) is a bare part of the body and, in art, the nude (1669).^(DHLF 1992) The compounds ''nue-propriété'' (1765) and ''nu-pieds'' and the derivatives [[nudisme]] (1932) and [[nudiste]] (1929) followed.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Os nut'', ''espée nue'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+ * Early 12th century – “Unclothed”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1155 – Of things, “bare”, Wace.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1278 – ''Nu comme un ver''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1547 – ''La vérité nue''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1669 – ''Un nu'', in art.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – ''À œil nud''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1765 – ''Nue-propriété''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|naked]], [[m|en|nude]]: ''être tout nu'', ''nu comme un ver''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|bare]], uncovered: ''pieds nus'', ''tête nue'', ''à mains nues''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # Bare, unadorned: ''un mur nu'', ''une pièce nue''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Le Robert)

+ # Plain, unvarnished: ''la vérité toute nue''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''À l'œil nu'': with the naked eye.^(DHLF 1992)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(law)'' ''Nue-propriété'': ownership without [[m|en|usufruct]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(art)'' A nude.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''À nu'': bare, exposed: ''mettre à nu''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Le Robert)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nûment]]

+ * [[nudisme]]

+ * [[nudiste]]

+ * [[nu-pieds]]

+ * [[va-nu-pieds]]

+ * [[nue-propriété]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nudité]]

+ * [[dénuder]]

+ * [[dénuer]]

+ * [[la|nūdus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Before a noun and joined with a hyphen, ''nu'' is invariable: ''nu-pieds'', ''nu-tête'', but ''pieds nus''.^(Littré 1873) A separate noun ''nu'' is the Greek letter nu (Ν, ν), from [[grc|νῦ|tr=nû]], Tory wrote it ''gni'' in 1529, and the form ''nu'' is in the ''Encyclopédie'' (1765).^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}