fouiller French · revision 17540

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1250, Péan Gatineau, Vie de saint Martin|origins=la fodiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fu.je/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fouiller'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|fooillier]], ''fuullier'';^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873) ''fouiller'' from the 16th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|fooillier]], [[inh|la-vul|*fodiculō]], a derivative of classical [[m|la|fodicō|t=to pierce; to dig]], from [[m|la|fodiō|t=to dig]] (see [[fouir]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|3, 666a) Littré compares [[oc|fozilhar]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Péan Gatineau's ''Vie de saint Martin'' (about 1250) uses it of animals digging the ground;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) Beaumanoir (1283) forbids pigs in meadows because they spoil them by rooting.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Amyot (1559) has it for searching everywhere, for searching a person, and for digging up royal tombs to rob them.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989) Montaigne (1580) uses it figuratively, “to study in depth”, and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1784) has ''fouiller les bibliothèques''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In sculpture it means to hollow out stone to give more relief (1704).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ''Se fouiller'' “to go through one's pockets” is from before 1709, and the jeering ''tu peux te fouiller !'' “you can whistle for it” is noted in 1869.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) The deverbal [[fouille]] (1578) gave ''les fouilles'', archaeological excavations (1811).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1250 – Of animals digging, in Péan Gatineau.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – Of pigs rooting, in Beaumanoir.^(Littré 1873)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1559 – “To search”, in Amyot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – “To study in depth”, in Montaigne.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1704 – In sculpture.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1784 – ''Fouiller les bibliothèques''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1869 – ''Tu peux te fouiller''.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To dig, [[m|en|excavate]] (ground), especially to find what is buried: ''fouiller l'emplacement d'une ville disparue''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # To [[m|en|search]] (a place, a thing) thoroughly: ''la police a fouillé la maison''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # To search, [[m|en|frisk]] (a person).^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To rummage: ''fouiller dans sa poche''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To go deeply into (a subject): ''fouiller une question''; of an artist, to work in fine detail.^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Se fouiller'': to go through one's pockets, ''tu peux te fouiller !'', you can whistle for it!^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fouille]]

+ * [[fouillis]]

+ * [[farfouiller]]

+ * [[trifouiller]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fouir]]

+ * [[fosse]]

+ * [[la|fodiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}