English
epaule
Epaule comes from French épaule ‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’, from Late Latin spathula ‘flat, broad piece’, and ultimately from Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā ‘blade’.
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘straight sword’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathula‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatlareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalle‘shoulder’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espaule‘shoulder’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépaule‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’
- Englishtodayepaule
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*spátʰā‘blade’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσπάθηspáthē‘any broad blade, of wood or metal’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspatha‘straight sword’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEspathula‘flat, broad piece’diminutive of spatha
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*spatlareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400espalle‘shoulder’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espaule‘shoulder’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentépaule‘shoulder, shoulder of a bastion’
- Englishtodayepaule
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
do, fact, deal, hot, fair, defense, fan, benefit, fashion, feature, mid, theme, defence, custom, ethnic, sufficient, treasury, treasure, ethical, thesis, aesthetic, defendant, feast, synthetic, theology, doom, tick, deed, dis, atheist, ethic, atheism, demi, deem, auditorium, thematic, ethos, forfeit, feral, auditor, 126 more
through Latin spatha ‘straight sword’
spade, spatula, espada, 17 more
through Vulgar Latin *spatla
Today it means
noun The shoulder of a bastion, or the place where its face and flank meet and form the angle, called the angle of the shoulder.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā / epaule