chemin French · revision 17340

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃə.mɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chemin''' ''m'' (plural chemins)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*cammīnus]], first found as “camino” in a Spanish text before 680, a word of Celtic origin that survived in the Romance languages because Gaulish lived on longer in the countryside.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 144b) Bloch and Wartburg compare [[cy|cam|t=step]] and [[br|kamm|t=step]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Wiktionary gives the source as [[xtg|*kamman]], perhaps with the Latin suffix [[m|la|-īnus]], and Meyer-Lübke notes that the modern Celtic forms point to “*camminos”.^(Wiktionary)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|cammino]], [[es|camino]], [[pt|caminho]] and [[ca|camí]], Picard has [[m|pcd|camin]].^(DHLF 1992)^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found about 1100 in the ''Chanson de Roland'', meaning a way leading from one place to another: ''Tant chevaucherent es veies e chemins'' (“so long did they ride along ways and roads”).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the 12th century it meant a direction, as in ''tourner son chemin vers'' (''Aiol''), and later the distance to be covered (1498, Commynes, ''à mi-chemin'', 1489–1491).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The figurative sense, a means to an end, is in Guillaume Guiart about 1306, and Froissart has ''aller le droit chemin'' about 1360; the image of life as a road gave ''faire son chemin'' and the contrast of ''droit chemin'' with ''chemin de traverse''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Se mettre en chemin'' is recorded in 1538 and ''chemin de ronde'' in 1676.^(TLFi)

+

+ ''Chemin de fer'' (1784 in Rey, 1787 in Bloch and Wartburg) translates English ''railway'' and became a fixed compound about 1830, Bloch and Wartburg note small horse-drawn railways near Saint-Étienne and Le Creusot before steam.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) From it came ''cheminot'' (1910), a railway worker.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In Canadian French ''le chemin du roi'' was the road linking the towns, and ''mettre au chemin'' means “to throw away”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 2nd half of the 12th century – “Direction”, in ''Aiol''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1306 – A means to an end, in Guiart.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1360 – ''Le droit chemin'' in Froissart.^(TLFi)

+ * 1498 – The distance to be covered, in Commynes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1676 – ''Chemin de ronde''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1784 – ''Chemin de fer''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1910 – ''Cheminot''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|path]], track or country road: ''un chemin de terre'', ''un chemin creux''.^(Le Robert)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The way, route to a place: ''demander son chemin''.^(Larousse)

+ # The distance covered or to be covered: ''faire du chemin'', ''à mi-chemin''.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A way, course, means: ''le droit chemin'', ''faire son chemin''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Chemin de fer'': [[m|en|railway]].^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Chemin de ronde'': a [[m|en|parapet walk]] along a wall.^(Le Robert)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(Louisiana)'' A road.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Quebec)'' ''Mettre au chemin'': to throw away.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[acheminer]]

+ * [[cheminement]]

+ * [[cheminer]]

+ * [[mi-chemin]]

+ * [[chemineau]]

+ * [[cheminot]]

+ * [[chemin de fer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}