épaule French · revision 17319

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (espalles)|origins=grc σπάθη}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /e.pol/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''épaule''' ''f'' (plural épaules)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|espalle]], [[m|fro|espalde]] (about 1120) and [[m|fro|espaule]] (about 1155); the primitive form must have been ''*espadle''; the Académie wrote ''épaule'' from 1740.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|espalle]], [[inh|la-lat|spathula|t=spatula, (of animals) shoulder blade]], through Vulgar Latin [[m|la-vul|*spatla]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|12, 146a) “Spathula”, properly a kind of spoon, means “shoulder blade” in the cookery writer Apicius and was taken up late by spoken Latin in this sense; it is a diminutive of [[m|la|spatha|t=broad sword]] (whence [[épée]]), from [[grc|σπάθη|tr=spáthē]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) [[spatule]] is a learned doublet.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|spalla]], [[es|espalda]], [[pro|espatla]] and [[ca|espatlla]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has ''Li reis Marsiles tint Guene par l'espalle'' (“King Marsile held Ganelon by the shoulder”).^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Hausser les épaules'' “to shrug” is recorded in 1611; earlier phrases such as ''haulser les épaules a la mode de Lombars'' (about 1500) and ''à l'italienne'' (about 1600) suggest the gesture came from northern Italy.^(DHLF 1992) ''Par-dessus l'épaule'' had a negative value from the 16th to the 18th century and later meant “carelessly”, perhaps under the influence of ''par-dessous la jambe''.^(DHLF 1992) ''Prêter l'épaule à quelqu'un'' “to help” is in Montaigne, ''avoir la tête sur les épaules'' and ''changer son fusil d'épaule'' (19th century) are still in use.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ As in Latin it also names the foreleg joint of an animal and the corresponding cut of meat.^(DHLF 1992) It has technical senses in carpentry (1264), fortification (late 16th century) and the navy (1678), and mountaineers have used it since Saussure (1796) for the shoulder of a mountain.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) The verb ''épauler'' first meant “to dislocate the shoulder of (an animal)” (about 1200), then “to support” (1404).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Espalle'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1155 – The form ''espaule'', in Wace.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – The derivative ''épauler''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1264 – A term of carpentry.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1611 – ''Hausser les épaules''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1740 – The Académie's spelling ''épaule''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1796 – The shoulder of a mountain, in Saussure.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|shoulder]]: ''une épaule démise'', ''une tape sur l'épaule''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(plural)'' The shoulders, the upper back: ''avoir les épaules larges''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(butchery)'' Shoulder (of lamb, veal).^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Hausser les épaules'': to [[m|en|shrug]].^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Par-dessus l'épaule'': carelessly, ''avoir la tête sur les épaules'': to be level-headed.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Changer son fusil d'épaule'': to change one's tactics or opinion.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(mountaineering)'' The shoulder of a mountain.^(Larousse)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[épaulée]]

+ * [[épauler]]

+ * [[épaulement]]

+ * [[épaulette]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[épée]]

+ * [[spatule]]

+ * [[la|spathula]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}