échanson

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French échanson, from Old French eschanson (“officer in charge of serving drinks to the table of a king or a prince, cupbearer”), a borrowing from Frankish *skankijō (“cupbearer”), from Proto-Germanic *skankijaną (“to pour in; serve drinks”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (“to limp; be crooked; slant”). Cognate with Old High German scencho (“cupbearer”), Old High German scenken (“to pour in, give drink to, water”), Old English sċenċan (“to skink, pout out, give drink to”). More at skink, shink.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.ʃɑ̃.sɔ̃/

• Audio (Switzerland)

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Noun

échanson m (plural échansons, feminine échansonne)

1. cupbearer (officer who is responsible for serving drinks to a king or noble)
2. (by extension) drink server (someone whose job is to serve drinks)

Derived terms

• archiéchanson

Further reading

• “échanson”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.