lien French · revision 38669

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=first half of the 12th century, Oxford Psalter|origins=la ligō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ljɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lien''' ''m'' (plural liens)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|leien]], [[m|fro|loien]], [[m|fro|liien]] and [[m|fro|liem]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(AND)

+ Anglo-Norman also wrote [[m|xno|lyen]].^(AND)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|lien]], [[inh|la|ligāmen|t=band, tie, cord]], from [[m|la|ligō|t=to bind, tie]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|5, 317a) The regular Old French outcomes of the Latin noun were [[m|fro|leien]] and [[m|fro|loien]], which survive in many dialects; the modern form was remade after the verb [[lier]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|legame]], [[oc|liam]], [[ca|lligam]] and [[pt|ligame]].^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935) Littré records the dialect form [[wa|loien]].^(Littré 1873) The English legal term [[m|en|lien]] comes from the Anglo-Norman word.^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the first half of the 12th century in the Oxford Psalter, used figuratively for the bonds that shackle someone (''Derumpuns les lur lïens'', “let us break their bonds”, translating Latin ''vincula'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The concrete sense, a cord or band used for tying, appears in Wace's ''Life of Saint Margaret'' (1130–1140).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old French the word also meant a dog's [[m|en|leash]], where modern French says [[laisse]] (late 12th century), and the bonds or fetters of a prisoner, a sense now dated.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From the 12th century it was used figuratively for what joins people by affection or duty: a bond of love (about 1175, Benoît de Sainte-Maure), an obligation from a vow (late 12th century) and the bond of marriage (late 13th century), today mostly in the plural.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It also meant what holds someone in dependence or servitude; in the classical period this was mainly the “bondage” of love, and the sense then softened to an affectionate relationship, as in ''liens d'amitié''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ A legal sense is recorded in 1283, and in the 19th century the word was used in logic for a connection between ideas (''lien du discours'', 1851–1862).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Technical senses include a diagonal brace in carpentry (1676).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989) In computing a ''lien'' is a link between pieces of information, as in ''lien hypertexte'', with the compound [[hyperlien]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 12th century – Used figuratively for bonds in the Oxford Psalter.^(TLFi)

+ * 1130–1140 – The concrete sense “cord, band”, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 12th century – “Leash for a dog”, in the Oxford ''Folie Tristan''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1175 – An affectionate bond, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * Late 13th century – ''Lien de mariage''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1283 – A legal sense.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1676 – A carpentry term, in Félibien.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1851–1862 – A logical connection between ideas.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|tie]] or band, any flexible strip used to bind things together: ''le lien d'une gerbe''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(carpentry)'' A diagonal [[m|en|brace]] joining two timbers set at an angle.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A connection, [[m|en|relation]] between facts or ideas: ''il n'y a aucun lien entre ces deux affaires'', ''lien de cause à effet''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(computing)'' A [[m|en|link]] between pieces of information: ''lien hypertexte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|bond]] between people: ''les liens du sang'', ''les liens de l'amitié'', ''les liens du mariage''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''(dated)'' The cords or chains of a prisoner; figuratively, what keeps someone in dependence: ''briser ses liens''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[limier]]

+ * [[hyperlien]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lier]]

+ * [[relier]]

+ * [[liane]]

+ * [[la|ligāmen]]

+ * [[en|lien]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}