maigre French · revision 17624

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1174–87, Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval|origins=la macer}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɛɡʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''maigre''' (plural maigres)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|meigre]] (about 1175), ''maigre'' from 1225.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|meigre]], [[inh|la|macer|t=lean, thin; poor (of soil)]], in its accusative form.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(FEW|6/1, 5a)^(Grand Robert 2005) The DHLF relates it to [[grc|μακρός|tr=makrós|t=long]].^(DHLF 1992) The expected sound development would have given [[m|frp|maire]], a form found in a few Franco-Provençal dialects of the Alps; the cluster ⟨gr⟩ found everywhere else is due either to a development like that of [[aigre]] from Latin [[m|la|ācer]], or to a semi-learned form used by physicians and the Church.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|macru]], [[it|magro]], [[pro|magre]], [[ca|magre]] and [[es|magro]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Chrétien de Troyes's ''Perceval'' (1174–87) it describes a living being with little fat: ''Une pucele meigre et pale''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1225 it was applied to food cooked without fat, as opposed to [[gras]]; by metonymy it described food containing neither fat nor meat, according to the rules of the Church, hence ''jour maigre'' (late 15th century) and ''faire maigre'' (1606).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(BHVF) Placed before the noun it expresses scantiness: ''maigre chère'' (1611), a poor meal, ''maigres excuses'' (Commynes).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ About 1265 Brunetto Latini used it of poor soil and of a dry style.^(TLFi) It also took technical senses: a mortar with little binder (1771), a piece of timber or stone that does not fit closely (1676), a thin typeface (1690).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) As a noun it named the lean part of meat from the 12th century and a thin person from 1559.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1174–87 – ''Meigre'' in Chrétien's ''Perceval''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1225 – Of food cooked without fat.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1265 – Brunetto Latini: ''terre maigre''.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 15th century – ''Jour maigre''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1606 – Nicot: ''faire maigre''.^(BHVF)

+ * 1611 – Cotgrave: ''maigre chère''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – Furetière: ''maigre sujet'' and a thin typeface.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|thin|alt=Thin]], [[m|en|skinny]]: ''maigre comme un clou''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of food, containing little or no fat: ''viande maigre'', ''fromage maigre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Without meat, as the Church prescribes on fast days: ''faire maigre'', ''jour maigre''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Placed before the noun, [[m|en|meagre|alt=meagre]], scanty: ''maigres excuses'', ''maigre chère''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # Of soil, poor, unproductive.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(printing)'' Of a typeface, light, thin.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The lean part of meat.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A thin person.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[amaigrissement]]

+ * [[amaigrir]]

+ * [[maigrelet]]

+ * [[maigrement]]

+ * [[maigreur]]

+ * [[maigrichon]]

+ * [[maigrir]]

+ * [[démaigrir]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[aigre]]

+ * [[la|macer]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A second ''maigre'', the name of a fish, the [[m|en|meagre]] (late 14th century), is derived from the adjective;^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary) Cotgrave explained it by the whiteness of its flesh, which makes it look lean.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary) Littré thought its origin unknown.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}