tapis French · revision 17632

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1160, Roman d'Eneas|origins=grc τάπης}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ta.pi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tapis''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Tapid'' (late 11th century, Rashi's glosses), ''tapiz'' (about 1130); ''tapis'' from the late 12th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was borrowed at the time of the Crusades from [[grc|ταπήτιον|tr=tapḗtion|t=small rug]], then pronounced with ⟨i⟩ for ⟨ē⟩, a diminutive of [[m|grc|τάπης|tr=tápēs|t=rug, blanket]], itself an oriental loanword of obscure origin, long thought to be Iranian.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|13/1, 96a) Wiktionary prefers an inheritance through [[la-vul|*tappetium]] from [[la|tapēte]] or the Byzantine Greek word.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Greek word was adapted in Latin in several forms, which gave [[es|tapete]] and [[it|tappeto]], while Spanish [[m|es|tapiz]] “tapestry” comes from French.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The French word passed in turn into early [[en|tapis]], later ousted by “carpet”, and into [[de|Teppich]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Roman d'Eneas'' (about 1160) mentions ''un tapiz Galacien'', a piece of fabric used to cover the floor or furniture.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ For a long time ''tapis'' meant any piece of fabric used as furnishing or decoration, spread on a table or a dais or hung like a tapestry (''tapiz de muraille'', 1408); the restricted modern sense, a covering spread on the floor, dates only from the second half of the 18th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) A ''tapis velu de Roumanie'' is recorded in 1328 and ''tapis de Turquie'' in the 14th century.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ From the table cover (about 1485), and especially the green cloth of a council table (1575), came ''mettre quelque chose sur le tapis'', to bring it up for discussion (late 16th century), and ''revenir sur le tapis'' (Sévigné, 1676).^(TLFi) The same green cloth is the gaming table, the ''tapis vert''.^(Petit Robert 2007) In boxing ''aller au tapis'', to be knocked down, dates from 1908.^(BHVF) Later compounds include ''tapis magique'' (Stendhal, 1827), ''tapis de prière'' (1876) and ''tapis roulant'', a conveyor belt.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) Derivatives include [[tapissier]] (1226), [[tapisserie]] (1347) and [[tapisser]] (15th century).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 11th century – ''Tapid'' in Rashi's glosses.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Tapiz'' in the ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1226 – ''Tapissier''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1347 – ''Tapisserie''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1485 – A table or chair cover.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 16th century – ''Mettre sur le tapis'', in Pasquier.^(TLFi)

+ * Second half of the 18th century – The modern sense, a floor covering.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1908 – ''Aller au tapis'' in boxing.^(BHVF)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|carpet]] or [[m|en|rug]]: ''tapis persan'', ''tapis de prière''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A mat: ''tapis de sol'', ''tapis de souris''; in boxing or wrestling, the floor of the ring: ''envoyer au tapis''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A cover for a table or other furniture, ''le tapis vert'', the gaming table.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A carpet-like layer: ''un tapis de neige, de fleurs''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Mettre, remettre une question sur le tapis'': to bring it up for discussion.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Tapis roulant'': a [[m|en|conveyor belt]] or moving walkway, ''tapis rouge'', red carpet.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(poker)'' All in.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tapisser]]

+ * [[tapisserie]]

+ * [[tapissier]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grc|τάπης|tr=tápēs]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}