chasseur French · revision 38581

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=early 12th century, Laws of William the Conqueror}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ʃa.sœʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''chasseur''' ''m'' (plural chasseurs, feminine chasseuse or chasseresse)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|chaceür]], [[m|fro|chaceor]]; the old nominative was [[m|fro|chacere]].^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi) The feminine ''chasseresse'' is recorded before 1305 and ''chasseuse'' in 1551.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|chasser|-eur]].^(Wiktionary)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) The verb [[chasser]] goes back to [[la-vul|*captiō|t=to try to catch]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|cacciatore]], [[es|cazador]], [[pt|caçador]] and [[oc|cassador]].^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record, in the Laws of William the Conqueror (early 12th century), is ''chaceürs'' for horses used for hunting or running, as opposed to the [[palefroi]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the early 13th century, and above all until the 17th, it named the person who hunts.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) By extension it was used of anyone who seeks something eagerly (''chasseur de millions'', 1835, Balzac), and some later phrases are calqued on English ''hunter'', such as ''chasseur de primes''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The servant employed on an estate to hunt for his master (1718, Académie) became a liveried footman (1787, Laclos) and then a liveried attendant in a hotel or restaurant (1890).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The military sense goes back to a company of light troops created in 1670, on foot and, from 1743 on horseback; the word passed to the navy (1831) and to aviation, for a fighter plane (1937).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) In cooking, ''lapin chasseur'' is short for a rabbit with a ''sauce chasseur'', first made for game.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 12th century – ''Chaceür'' “hunting horse” in the Laws of William the Conqueror.^(TLFi)

+ * early 13th century – Used of a hunter, in ''Dolopathos''.^(TLFi)

+ * before 1305 – The feminine ''chaceresse''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1670 – A company of ''chasseurs à pied'' is created.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1718 – The Académie records the estate servant who hunts for his master.^(TLFi)

+ * 1743 – Light cavalry called ''chasseurs''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1835 – Balzac's ''chasseur de millions''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1890 – A hotel or restaurant attendant.^(TLFi)

+ * 1937 – A fighter plane.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|hunter]], a person who hunts; also an animal that hunts well.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A person who eagerly seeks something: ''chasseur d'images'', ''chasseur de têtes'' (a [[m|en|headhunter]]).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A [[m|en|bellboy]], a liveried attendant in a hotel or restaurant.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A soldier of certain light infantry or cavalry units: ''chasseurs alpins'', ''chasseurs à cheval''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+ # A [[m|en|fighter]] aircraft.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(cooking)'' ''Sauce chasseur'': a sauce with mushrooms, shallots and white wine; also as an adjective, ''poulet chasseur''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chasseur-cueilleur]]

+ * [[chasseresse]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chasser]]

+ * [[chasse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}