cuir French · revision 17491

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɥiʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cuir''' ''m'' (plural cuirs)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|quir]] (1080); ''cuir'' from about 1160.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|quir]], [[inh|la|corium|t=skin, hide; leather]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 1185a) Rey and the Petit Robert relate the Latin word to an Indo-European root meaning “to cut”, the skin being what can be cut off;^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Latin [[m|la|carō|t=flesh]] and [[grc|κείρω|tr=keírō|t=to cut]] belong to it too.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|cuoio]], [[es|cuero]], [[pt|couro]], [[ca|cuir]] and [[oc|cuer]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) ''quir'' is the skin of a man: a man must lose ''et du quir et du peil'', skin and hair, for his lord.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old French used it both for human skin and for the hide of an animal (about 1160, ''cuir de tor'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Under the competition of [[peau]] it declined after the 17th century for human skin, except in jokes and in ''cuir chevelu'' (1800), the scalp;^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) for animals it specialized, about 1170, in the sense of skin tanned and prepared, leather.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''Faire un cuir'' (1783) is a wrong liaison such as ''dis-moi-t-un peu'';^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Bloch and Wartburg call its origin doubtful and suggest the older phrase ''écorcher un mot'' “to flay a word”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) ''Tanner le cuir à quelqu'un'' “to give someone a hiding” is found in 1837.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Quir'', human skin, in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Cuir de tor'', an animal's hide, in ''Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1170 – Tanned leather, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1783 – ''Faire un cuir'', a faulty liaison.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1800 – ''Cuir chevelu''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1837 – ''Tanner le cuir à quelqu'un''.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|leather|alt=Leather]]: the skin of an animal tanned and prepared: ''cuir de vache'', ''semelles de cuir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # A raw hide meant for [[m|en|tanning]]: ''commerce de cuirs et peaux''.^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # The thick skin of certain animals: ''le cuir de l'hippopotame''.^(Larousse)

+ # ''(dated or humorous)'' Human skin, ''cuir chevelu'', the [[m|en|scalp]], ''tanner le cuir à quelqu'un'', to thrash someone.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(familiar)'' A leather jacket or garment.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A wrong [[liaison]], such as an intrusive /t/ or /z/ between words.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cuirasse]]

+ * [[cuirasser]]

+ * [[cuirassier]]

+ * [[curée]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[coriace]]

+ * [[excorier]]

+ * [[la|corium]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}