grec French · revision 17646

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1165, Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Roman de Troie|origins=grc Γραικός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʁɛk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''grec''' (feminine grecque, masculine plural grecs, feminine plural grecques)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|Graecus|t=Greek]], from [[grc|Γραικός|tr=Graikós]].^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|4, 210a) The Greek word is very rare in Greek literature, where the usual name is [[m|grc|Ἕλλην|tr=Héllēn]]; it is probably a foreign word, perhaps Illyrian, that passed early into Latin through Etruscan.^(DHLF 1992) Littré says it was the name of one Hellenic people that the Romans gave to the whole nation.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ The learned form replaced those that came from the Latin word by sound change: [[m|fro|griu]], [[m|fro|griois]], [[m|fro|grézois]], which survives in [[grégeois]], and [[m|fro|griesche]], which survives in [[grièche]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(Grand Robert 2005) The feminine spelling ⟨grecque⟩, instead of ⟨grèque⟩, reflects an older spelling habit, as in [[becquée]] and [[socque]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Benoît de Sainte-Maure's ''Roman de Troie'' (about 1165) uses it as an adjective, of the Greek language.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a noun it named an inhabitant of Greece (Villehardouin, about 1208: ''li Franc et li Grec''), and, from 1512 the Greek language.^(TLFi) In the 16th century ''un grec'' was a Hellenist (1527), whence the figurative senses “learned” (1640) and “skilled, knowing” (1651).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The sense “cunning, skilled at deceiving” (1578) alludes to the old reputation of the Greeks for trickery, and gave the 18th- and 19th-century sense of a cardsharp (1721).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ Phrases include ''à la grecque'' (1584), ''calendes grecques'' (Rabelais), never, and ''profil grec'' (Sand, 1833).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) ''C'est du grec'' means “it's double Dutch”.^(Petit Robert 2007) In recent slang ''un grec'' is a kebab sandwich.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1165 – The adjective, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1208 – The noun, “a Greek”, in Villehardouin.^(TLFi)

+ * 1512 – ''Le grec'', the language.^(TLFi)

+ * 1527 – “A Hellenist”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1578 – “Cunning, deceitful”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1584 – ''À la grecque''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1721 – “A cardsharp”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|Greek]], of Greece, ancient or modern: ''les îles grecques'', ''la mythologie grecque''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Profil grec'', ''nez grec'': with the nose in line with the forehead.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Croix grecque'': a cross with four equal arms, ''calendes grecques'': never.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Grec'': a Greek, an inhabitant of Greece.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Le grec'': the Greek language, ancient or modern: ''grec ancien'', ''grec moderne''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' A cardsharp.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(slang)'' A [[m|en|kebab]] sandwich.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grégeois]]

+ * [[grecque]]

+ * [[la|Graecus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}