piste French · revision 17496

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1559, François de Rabutin|origins=la-lat pistō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pist/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''piste''' ''f'' (plural pistes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|pista|t=track, trail]], a variant of [[m|it|pesta]], the only usual form today, recorded from 1550 as a riding-school term for the tracks left by horses.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|8, 598b) The Italian noun is a deverbal of [[m|it|pestare|t=to trample; to pound]], from [[la-lat|pistō|t=to pound]], itself from classical [[m|la|pīnsō|t=to pound]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) Bloch and Wartburg explain the /i/ of the Italian form as a Roman or Neapolitan form.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1571; the TLFi and Rey find it in 1559.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The English word [[m|en|piste]] (1727) was taken from it.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ François de Rabutin's ''Commentaires'' (1559) speak of ''une piste et fraie'' freshly beaten by many horses.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The trail of a man is recorded in 1562 and that of a wild animal in 1580, the year Montaigne has ''marcher sur la piste d'autruy'' figuratively.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From this came the sense of a lead or set of clues guiding a search for someone (1604).^(TLFi) In 1584 a translation from Italian uses it of the track horses leave in a riding school.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The other senses developed after 1850: a rough road through undeveloped country (1854), a racecourse (1860), a cycle track (1869, ''piste vélocipédique'' 1892, now ''piste cyclable''), a circus ring (1908–1910), a dance floor (1913) and an airfield runway (1910).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Ski runs are an essential use, and ''hors-piste'' became a noun in the 1990s.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) The ''piste sonore'' of a film is from 1932, and in African French ''faire la piste'' is to drive where there are no modern roads.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1559 – A trail of horses, in François de Rabutin.^(TLFi)

+ * 1562 – The trail of a man.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – Figurative use, in Montaigne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1604 – A lead in a search.^(TLFi)

+ * 1854 – A rough road, in Maxime Du Camp.^(TLFi)

+ * 1860 – A racecourse.^(TLFi)

+ * 1903 – Ski tracks in the snow.^(BHVF)

+ * 1910 – An airfield runway.^(TLFi)

+ * 1932 – ''Piste sonore''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|trail]], [[m|en|track]] left by an animal or person: ''suivre la piste d'un lièvre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A lead, a line of inquiry: ''la police est sur sa piste'', ''brouiller les pistes'', to cover one's tracks, ''fausse piste'', a false trail.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A rough road or track in undeveloped country.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A course or track for racing; a cycle lane: ''piste cyclable''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A ski run: ''piste de ski''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # An airfield [[m|en|runway]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A circus [[m|en|ring]]; a dance floor, ''en piste !'', let's go!^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A track of a sound recording: ''piste sonore''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hors-piste]]

+ * [[pistard]]

+ * [[pister]]

+ * [[dépister]]

+ * [[pisteur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pisé]]

+ * [[en|piste]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}