ciel French · revision 17387

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 881, Séquence de sainte Eulalie|origins=la caelum}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sjɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ciel''' ''m'' (plural cieux or ciels)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|caelum|t=vault of the sky; abode of the gods; vault, ceiling]], written “celum” and “coelum” in Late Latin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 34b)^(Wiktionary) The origin of the Latin word is uncertain: it has been linked with [[m|la|caedō|t=to cut]], the sky being divided into regions by the augurs, and Wiktionary derives it from a Proto-Indo-European “*keh₂i-lom” “whole”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The plural [[cieux]] is the old oblique case; the Christian plural “caelī” was modelled on Hebrew “šāmayim”, itself a plural.^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ Cognate with [[it|cielo]], [[oc|cel]], [[ca|cel]], [[es|cielo]], [[pt|céu]] and [[ro|cer]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Séquence de sainte Eulalie'' (about 881), meaning the abode of God and of souls after death.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The three Latin senses passed into French.^(DHLF 1992) The religious one gave, by metonymy, “Providence, God” in ''par faveur du ciel'' and the exclamation ''ô Ciel !'' (Montchrestien, 1604), and phrases such as ''aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The vault of the sky is in the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050); until the 16th century ''les ciels'' were also the transparent spheres to which the stars were thought to be fixed, whence ''le septième ciel''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

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+ The technical sense “vault, ceiling” gave the canopy over a table (after 1350) or a bed, and the roof of a quarry (1676), whence ''à ciel ouvert'' “open-air”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Bleu ciel'' “sky blue” dates from 1844.^(DHLF 1992) ''Arc-en-ciel'' replaced the older ''arc del ciel'' (1150–1170).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 881 – “Heaven” in the ''Séquence de sainte Eulalie''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – “The sky”, in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 14th century – A canopy, in Eustache Deschamps.^(TLFi)

+ * 1604 – ''Ô Ciel !'' in Montchrestien.^(TLFi)

+ * 1676 – ''Les ciels d'une carrière'', in Félibien.^(TLFi)

+ * 1844 – ''Bleu ciel''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|sky]]: ''un ciel étoilé''; plural ''ciels'' for its aspects: ''les ciels de Turner''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The space in which the [[m|en|heavenly]] bodies move.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # [[m|en|heaven]], the abode of God and the blessed; plural ''cieux'': ''Notre Père qui es aux cieux''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Le Ciel'': God, Providence: ''grâce au ciel'', ''juste ciel !''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary, plural cieux)'' A climate, a country: ''sous d'autres cieux''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # A [[m|en|canopy]] over a bed or throne; the roof of a quarry or mine: ''à ciel ouvert''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[céleste]]

+ * [[arc-en-ciel]]

+ * [[la|caelum]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ The plural ''ciels'' is used for real multiplicity or aspects and for the technical senses, ''cieux'' is a collective plural with a religious or poetic tone, and is the only one used in ''sous d'autres cieux''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}