ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1298 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1298 ************************************ 1 Oct 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked when the Old French "mistress" lost the to become the modern . Here is a quick answer. The spelling change occurred after the Society's period. The circumflex began to appear in the 17th century, but didn't become standard until the early 18th century. The first two editions of the _Dictionnaire de l'Acade/mie franc,aise_, 1694 and 1718, use for the masculine form of the word, but the next edition, 1740, uses [1]. We found the older form in another source, published around 1532, and the older form of some similar words like (modern ) and (modern ) in a book published 1671 [2, 3]. I hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek and Aryanhwy Prytydes. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 1 Oct 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] "Dictionnaire de l'Acade/mie franc,aise: Sample Database, 1694-1935" (WWW: Dictionnaire de l'Acade/mie Database Project, 1996, 1997, accessed 21 Sept 1998). http://www.epas.utoronto.ca:8080/~wulfric/academie/indexeng.htm [2] Du Wes, Giles, _An Introductory for to Learn to Read, to Pronounce, and to Speak French_, facsimile of the original in the Bodleian Library, Shelf-mark Douce D222; pub. c.1532. (Menston, England: The Scolar Press Limited, 1972). [3] Menestrier, C.F., _Le Veritable Art du Blason_ (Lyon: 1671).