The New Year's Eve is upon us, and brings with them their streams of gouleyant juice from the trellis.
Faced with the upcoming festivities, let's get ready now to sparkle with joy with the colorful synonym of a term, the bottle, which we are likely to pronounce several times over the next few days.
François Rabelais inaugurated it in 1552, thanks to his final edition of the
Quart Livre
, where we find in particular the following passage in the first chapter: and universal hydrography, the route they would take to visit the oracle of the “Bouteille Bacbuc”.
There is something onomatopoeic in this “bacbuc” which aptly evokes the sound of a drink being drunk from the neck of a glass bottle;
Rabelais does not fail to indicate this sonic etymology himself in his
Brief Declaration.
: "BACBUC, bottle in Hebrew, so dictates the sound it makes when you see it.".
This feeling of hearing an empty bottle is further reinforced by the alliteration in “b”.
Ancient and biblical
It is a French word which remains very close to its oriental origin, since baqbûq itself means "bottle" in Hebrew.
Let us note in passing the tautology, all the more striking as the two occurrences appear with a capital "b" personifying, as if Rabelais wanted simultaneously to insist with emphasis on the importance of this source of intoxicating gaiety, and to charge it with vital energy. .
But, by its Hebrew origin, the word “bacbuc” is colored with a semantism which is both ancient and biblical, which goes well beyond personification, which in fact confirms the use of the qualifying adjective “dive dive”. »: Rabelais remains here faithful to his desire to sanctify everything that has to do with the body, as well as sensualist pleasure.
Isn't it time to bring this suggestive and funny synonym up to date?
As New Year's Eve approaches, let's get ready to religiously slash our champagne bacbucs.
“Have fun (…) cheerfully (…) all at ease with your body (…)” to use words dear to François Rabelais;
certainly, but in moderation!