match French · revision 38667

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1819|origins=ang ġemæcca}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /matʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''match''' ''m'' (plural matches or matchs)^(Wiktionary)

+ The plural is ''matchs'' or, following English, ''matches''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|en|match]], which had been used of a sporting contest since the 16th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|18, 83b) The English noun goes back to [[ang|ġemæcca|t=partner, mate]] (about 831), whence “an equal” and “a rival” and then the action of comparing or setting against each other, and so any contest.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Rey connects it with a Germanic verb formed with a prefix and the stem of [[en|make]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first recorded in 1819 (in Rey and Gagnon's dictionary of anglicisms), and in 1827 in T. Bryon's ''Manuel de l'amateur de courses'', as a horse-racing term.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) It remained rare until the 1850s and 1860s.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word spread beyond the turf in the second half of the 19th century and became usual towards the end of it, with the growth of sport in France;^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Hugo already uses it in ''L'Homme qui rit''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) In French it is used only in the sense “contest”, but it applies to far more kinds of contest than in English, beside [[joute]], [[partie]] and [[combat]].^(DHLF 1992) Phrases such as ''match aller'', ''match retour'' and ''faire match nul'' date from the early 20th century.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ The verb [[matcher]] “to meet in a match” (1892) and “to play a match” (1893) is now dated.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) In Canada it has taken from English the senses “to match, pair up” and, reflexively, “to go out together”.^(DHLF 1992) French later took [[matchmaker]] (1931), an organiser of boxing matches, and [[match-play]] (1914), from golf.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1819 – First recorded.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1827 – Used of horse racing by T. Bryon.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * Late 19th century – Becomes the usual word for a sporting contest.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1892 – The verb ''matcher''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Early 20th century – ''Match aller'', ''match retour'', ''faire match nul''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sporting [[m|en|contest]] between two competitors or teams: ''un match de tennis'', ''un match de hockey''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Match aller'', ''match retour'': the first and second legs between two teams, ''faire match nul'': to [[m|en|draw]].^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # By extension, a game of bridge or chess; figuratively, a contest between rivals, especially in business or politics.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[matcher]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[matchmaker]]

+ * [[match-play]]

+ * [[en|match]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}