eau French · revision 17474

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (egua)|origins=ine-pro *h₂ekʷeh₂}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /o/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''eau''' ''f'' (plural eaux)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''egua'' (about 1050), ''ewe'' (about 1100), ''eaue'' (1185), still used in the 16th century, ''eau'' (1490); in the west ''eve'', ''aive''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|ewe]], [[inh|la|aqua|t=water]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|25, 63b)^(Wiktionary) Latin “aqua”, water as an element, as opposed to [[m|la|unda|t=moving water, wave]], goes back to [[ine-pro|*h₂ekʷeh₂|t=water, flowing water]], and has exact counterparts in [[got|𐌰𐍈𐌰|tr=ahwa]] and in Celtic place names.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The French form results from a long series of sound changes: “qu” was voiced and weakened to /w/; the initial “a” became “e”; in the west /w/ became /v/ (“eve”), elsewhere it was vocalised, giving “eaue”, then “eau”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré suggests that “eau” came from a Picard form “iaue”.^(Littré 1873) Old French also had “aigue”, borrowed from the south.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|apă]], [[it|acqua]], [[oc|aiga]], [[ca|aigua]], [[es|agua]] and [[pt|água]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1050 the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' has ''L'egua li getent, si moilent sun liçon'' “they throw water on him and wet his bed”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By 1185 ''eau'' was also a liquid secreted by the body (''l'eaue du cuer li est as yex montee'', tears).^(TLFi) In the 16th century it named liquids other than pure water, as in ''eau-forte'' (1575), and ''eau-de-vie'' translates the alchemists' Latin ''aqua vitae''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The amniotic fluid is ''les eaux'' from 1694.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The plural ''les eaux'' also named fountains (1690), mineral springs and spa towns, as in ''prendre les eaux'' (1622).^(DHLF 1992) ''Eaux et forêts'' dates from the 15th century.^(DHLF 1992) Of gems, ''eau'' meant transparency (1611), whence the ironic ''de la plus belle eau'' (1874).^(TLFi) ''Laisser couler l'eau'' “to let things take their course” is found in 1587.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Egua'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

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

+ * 1185 – ''Eaue'', a bodily fluid.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – ''Eau-de-vie''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1484 – ''Morte-eau'', neap tide.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1490 – The spelling ''eau''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1622 – ''Les eaux'', a spa.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1694 – ''Les eaux'', the amniotic fluid.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|water]]: ''un verre d'eau'', ''eau douce'', ''eau de mer''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|rain]]: ''il tombe de l'eau''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # A body or stretch of water, ''les eaux'', the waters of seas, rivers and lakes.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A liquid preparation: ''eau de toilette'', ''eau de Javel''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # A bodily fluid: ''être en eau'', to be bathed in sweat, ''perdre les eaux''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Les eaux'': a spa: ''aller aux eaux''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # The [[m|en|lustre]] of a gem: ''de la plus belle eau''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eau-de-vie]]

+ * [[eau-forte]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aquatique]]

+ * [[évier]]

+ * [[aiguière]]

+ * [[la|aqua]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}