abreuver

French

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *abbiberō, from Latin bibō (“to drink”) (/abiberāre/ > /abirebāre/ > /abirebair/ > /abreββer/ > /abreuver/ > /abrœve/).

  • In Vulgar Latin, the word is *abiberāre
  • It underwent metathesis, changing from *abiberāre to *abirebāre, also because of dissimilation.
  • The "i" disappeared.
  • The second "b" softened and became [β], and then became /wv/, making the word *abrewver > abreuver, where:
    • The ending -āre regularly gave rise to -er, and at this moment:
    • the spelling abreuver was established.
  • Then, the "eu" regularly became [œ], and the final "r" regularly became silent.

Compare Italian abbeverare, Portuguese abeberar, Spanish abrevar.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /a.bʁœ.ve/

Verb

abreuver

  1. (literary) to water (cattle, fields etc.), give water to (a person)
    Synonym: arroser
  2. (literary, takes a reflexive pronoun) to drink
  3. (figuratively, ditransitive, with the indirect object taking de) to shower (someone) in
    Elle l'a abreuvé d'injures. ― She insulted him copiously.

Conjugation

Further reading

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