assiette French · revision 38555

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1260|origins=la sedeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /a.sjɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''assiette''' ''f'' (plural assiettes)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|assiete]] (1260); the spelling ''assiette'' is recorded from 1482.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[inh|la-vul|*assedita]], the feminine past participle, used as a noun, of [[m|la-vul|*assedeō]],^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|11, 399b) from [[la|assideō|t=to sit by]], from [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|sedeō|t=to sit]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992) In popular Latin this form had replaced the classical participle [[m|la|sessus]]; the /e/ became a diphthong, the /i/ of ⟨-di-⟩ was lost and the /t/ was kept.^(DHLF 1992) Rey thinks this more likely than a French formation from [[asseoir]], to which the word is linked in meaning;^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg gloss its first sense as “manner of being seated, placed”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré, unsure, proposed [[fro|siet|t=fixed]], from [[la|situs]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Meyer-Lübke lists it among the derivatives of [[la-vul|*asseditō|t=to seat]], with [[it|assettare]] and [[pro|asetar]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in 1260 for the assigning of a rent, and about 1270 for the apportioning of taxes;^(DHLF 1992) Beaumanoir (1283) uses it in this financial sense.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the late 13th century the word also named the tax itself.^(DHLF 1992) From the 14th century other senses grew from the concrete meanings of the Latin verb and of ''asseoir'': the position of a town (1402), a firm position, a person's way of sitting (1580, Montaigne) and a rider's seat, and figuratively a state of mind; of this last sense only the phrase ''ne pas être dans son assiette'' remains.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ For the everyday sense, the word meant a guest's place at table (1393) and, almost at the same time, a dish served at a meal (1378); innkeepers were said to ''tenir assiette''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) From there it passed in 1507 to the flat piece of tableware.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Phrases followed, such as ''assiette volante'' for side dishes (1690, Furetière), now gone, and ''piquer les assiettes'' “to eat at others' expense”, the source of ''pique-assiette'' (1807).^(DHLF 1992) Belgian French says ''assiette profonde'' for a soup plate; in Canada the word also names a pie tin, after English ''plate'', and in Africa a shared dish.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1260 – ''Assiete'', the assigning of a rent.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1270 – The apportioning of taxes.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1378 – A dish served at a meal.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1393 – A guest's place at table.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1402 – The position of a town.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1482 – The spelling ''assiette'' is recorded.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1507 – First used for the plate.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1580 – Montaigne uses it for a way of sitting.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – The derivative ''assiettée'' “plateful”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1807 – ''Pique-assiette'' “sponger”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|plate]], an individual piece of tableware, flat or more or less hollow.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The contents of a plate, a [[m|en|plateful]]: ''assiette anglaise'', a plate of cold meats.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(riding)'' A rider's [[m|en|seat]], the way he or she sits in the saddle.^(Larousse)^(Le Robert)

+ # The way a person or thing stands or rests on its base; stability.^(Larousse)

+ # ''Ne pas être dans son assiette'': not to feel well, physically or in spirits.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(law, finance)'' The [[m|en|basis]] on which a tax or contribution is assessed.^(Larousse)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(nautical, aviation)'' The [[m|en|trim]] of a ship or the attitude of an aircraft.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pique-assiette]]

+ * [[assiettée]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[asseoir]]

+ * [[seoir]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}