"Restaurant" (re message from Barry Popik)

Mon Jun 14 16:06:24 UTC 2010

A further comment on "restaurant" is in John Simpson's latest quarterly note:

---
http://dictionary.oed.com/news/updates/revisions1006.html
Readers of last quarter's publication notes will know that, with the
aid of numerous readers' contributions, we had identified 1821 as the
year in which eating houses named ‘restaurants’ started to spring up
in Britain and America. I'm grateful to those of you who have taken up
the challenge to find still earlier references. The current version of
the entry includes two early outliers: one, from 1815, describing
coffee-houses and ‘an excellent restaurant’ in Paris; the other, from
1806, using the word in a translation of the ‘Regulations of the
Literary Society of Antwerp’.
The word is recorded in its modern sense in French from at least 1771,
so it is possible the other earlier uses may be discovered. But at
present the establishment of such establishments in New York and
London can still be dated to 1821.
---

On Sat, Mar 13, 2010 at 1:03 AM, Benjamin Zimmer
<bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> From John Simpson's note on the latest OED quarterly update:
>
> ---
> http://dictionary.oed.com/news/updates/revisions1003.html
> The final stages of work on _restaurant_ witnessed a string of
> surprises. First, the earliest use moved back from 1826 (a description
> of the Haymarket in London) to 1823 (the Morning Chronicle of 7 July,
> noting a new eating house in Paris). As we neared the date set for
> transferring the data to the dictionary's web site, an earlier
> quotation from 1821 was submitted – this time from New York (the
> Evening Post for 6 July). But by now it seemed that the earliest
> references, clustered around 1821 and 1823, were for the spelling
> _restaurat_. At the last moment, there was a suggestion of a proposed
> 1766 quotation from Boswell's journal of his ‘Grand Tour’ on the
> continent, for ‘restaurant-keeper’. That would have upset the
> applecart. I'm grateful to John Overholt of the Houghton Library at
> Harvard, who checked the original manuscript and found that Boswell
> uses the word ‘traiteur’, which was helpfully anglicized by Boswell's
> editor in 1955. After the data was transferred to the web site, a
> further 1821 predating (from England, this time, has come to light:
> spelling _restaurat_; in a description of Paris). We'll have to wait
> for July for that to go online. We can't stop the presses every time a
> new discovery is made!
> ---
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 5, 2010 at 11:29 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > The following message shows that Boswell's manuscript had "traiteur"
> > -- a fact perhaps already known to the OED gnomes.  (The image is
> > quote clear.)  Do we need to follow up and ask Mr. Overholt for the
> > earliest edition that said "restaurant"?  (If there was one.)
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > The manuscript for this journal is among the Boswell papers that have
> > been digitized. It looks like Boswell didn't say "restaurant-keeper"
> > at all, but "traiteur":
> > http://130.132.81.65/RIP_CURATOR/size4/B0096/1201876.jpg (page image)
> > http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/getSETS.asp?ITEM=2039118
> > (full journal for Dec. 1765-Jan. 1766)
> > John Overholt
> > Assistant Curator
> > The Donald and Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson/
> > Early Modern Books and Manuscripts
> > Houghton Library
> > Harvard University
> > http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/hydeblog
> >
> > At 2/4/2010 11:07 AM, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
> >>This quotation has been known to, and under investigation by,
> >>the OED for some time now. Though we're still not sure, it
> >>appears that this passage may originally have been written by
> >>Boswell in French, and the English translation is later.
> >>
> >>I'll try to remember to post a followup, once the checking
> >>has been completed.
> >>
> >>Jesse Sheidlower
> >>OED
> >>
> >>On Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 10:16:52PM -0600, Cohen, Gerald Leonard wrote:
> >> > Below is a message sent by Barry to several ads-l members and
> >> which I now share with the entire list.
> >> > On a general note, it's always good to be reminded ofo the great
> >> value of Barry's website.
> >> >
> >> > G. Cohen
> >> >
> >> > ________________________________
> >> >
> >> > From: Barry Popik [mailto:bapopik at aol.com]
> >> > Sent: Wed 2/3/2010 9:11 PM
> >> > Subject: Re: The first French "restaurat" was in New York, in 1821?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > I posted this here and OED doesn't record it?
> >> > --Barry Popik
> >> > ...
> >> > ...
> >> >
> >> http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/restaurant_refectory/
> >> > ...
> >> > ...
> >> > http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0203C&L=ADS-L&P=R2680
> >> > Subject:         Restaurant (1766)
> >> > From:    [log in to unmask]
> >> <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A2%3Dind0203C%26L%3DADS-L%26P%3DR2680>
> >> > Reply-To:        American Dialect Society <[log in to unmask]
> >> <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A2%3Dind0203C%26L%3DADS-L%26P%3DR2680>
> >>  >
> >> > Date:    Mon, 18 Mar 2002 21:36:33 EST
> >> > Content-Type:    text/plain
> >> >    OED and Merriam-Webster have 1827 for "restaurant," although
> >> OED's entry notes that it started in Paris in 1765.  There's been a
> >> new book on the subject that I'll have to check.
> >> >
> >> > BOSWELL
> >> > ON THE GRAND TOUR
> >> > ITALY, CORSICA, AND FRANCE
> >> > 1765-1766
> >> > edited by Frank Brady and Frederick A. Pottle,
> >> > Yale University
> >> > McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., NY
> >> > 1955
> >> >
> >> > Pg. 257 (1766, THURSDAY 2 JANUARY):
> >> >    A restaurant keeper just by Le Blanc's furnished me dinner and
> >> half a bottle of wine for three livres, and Etienne, my _valet de
> >> place_, was very active and had the name of "l'eveille."
> >> > ...
> >> > ...
> >> > Subject:         Re: The first French "restaurat" was in New York, in 1821?
> >> > From:    Jesse Sheidlower <[log in to unmask]
> >> <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A2%3Dind1002A%26L%3Dads-l%26P%3DR2732>
> >>  >
> >> > Reply-To:        American Dialect Society <[log in to unmask]
> >> <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A2%3Dind1002A%26L%3Dads-l%26P%3DR2732>
> >>  >
> >> > Date:    Wed, 3 Feb 2010 13:48:19 -0500
> >> > Content-Type:    text/plain
> >> > Parts/Attachments:      Parts/Attachments        text/plain
> >> <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A3=ind1002A&L=ADS-L&E=0&P=107010&B=--&T=text%2Fplain;%20charset=us-ascii>
> >> (15 lines)
> >> >
> >> > On Wed, Feb 03, 2010 at 11:08:19AM -0500, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> >> > > (Shades of "Ratatouille"!)
> >> > >
> >> > > For "restaurant", the OED's earliest citation is 1827.  (Still a "2nd
> >> > > edition 1989" entry, so the gnomes likely have mined to a lower
> >> > > stratum by now.  And perhaps to be updated shortly; in December the
> >> > > "revised range" arrived at "reputeless.")
> >> >
> >> > We'd mined back to 1823, so this is still two years better. Thanks!
> >> >
> >> > Jesse Sheidlower
> >> > OED
> >> >
> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >> >
> >>

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org