Few words are spelled so often as “tulle”. The most common mistake in a word is not the absence of a soft sign or confusion with a vowel, but use in the wrong way. Very often, even in a professional environment, one can hear how the word “tulle” is declined as a feminine noun. So what kind of "tulle" in Russian actually and why?
Meaning of the word “tulle”
In almost every house, under the blackout curtains, you can see a thin curtain called tulle. But, from the point of view of the stylistics of the Russian language, this is not entirely correct. This is a curtain of tulle, that is, this is the name of the fabric, not the product itself. Often, curtains are often sewn from tulle, and this type of curtain is called a curtain. The popularity of using curtains for sewing is determined by translucency. This property allows you to muffle the blinding sunlight without plunging the apartment into complete darkness.
But there is another type of tulle - smooth, which decorates clothes and even sew dresses, underwear and skirts from it. Moreover, the manufacture of clothing was primary, and only then they began to use fabric for decorating the premises.
Tulle (or bobbinet) is a translucent mesh fabric that is made from cotton, dacron and silk threads. As a decoration, it is similar in appearance to woven lace. The tulle can be simply transparent or with a printed pattern or embroidery elements. The structure is both rigid and flowing. The grid itself can be either invisible to the eye or large.
Origin of the word
The word is of French origin. It is formed from the name of the city in France Tulle, with a population of no more than 20 thousand people. Because this city is considered the birthplace of tulle, it was here that they invented it. This is not the first such experience in the formation of the name of the fabric. Jersey, cashmere and Boston - these are also the names of the cities where the production of these fabrics started.
According to legend, Louis XI asked to make for him such a fabric, which would not be visible to a person, but he could watch everyone. The reason for this request was that his future wife did not want her face to be seen at the wedding. Masters from the small town of Tulle responded to his request. The king offered the fabric so much that the king liked it that it was from her that they were ordered to sew a dress for his bride.
The popularity of the fabric came in the 18th century. Especially in the UK at the time, tulle clothing was very fashionable.
Now in French there is the word Tulle in two versions: the name of the city and the name of the type of fabric itself. Both words in French are invariably masculine. In addition to Russian, in many European languages the word is similar in sound to the original source.
What kind of "tulle" in Russian
Male or female, or maybe it all depends on the context? So, the noun “tulle” - what is his gender? The answer to the question is unequivocal: male. There can be no options here. All adjectives and participles used with this word should also be exclusively masculine. And the application to this word of female epithets of this kind, for example, “the thinnest,” is erroneous. Tulle is masculine, and it can only be the finest.
Why is the "tulle" masculine
What is the reason that this genus is exactly? If we begin to understand in detail what kind of word “tulle” is in Russian, we can make sure that the name from which it came was already masculine. And according to the laws of word formation, gender is also borrowed. And already in the process of exploitation, the word itself began to serve as a source of word formation. For example, the word tulle (tulle curtain) came from him.
Does the word “tulle” bow?
To some, this word seems unwilling. This word is inclined, but not according to the paradigm of 3 declensions, as it may seem, but according to the paradigm of 2 declensions. Just like the words king, cloak, baby and lobby.
According to the school curriculum, the second declension in the Russian language includes words of the middle gender with the ending –e and –o and masculine words with a zero ending. The word fits the second category, because "b" is not an ending, it is part of the basis of the word. But the word does not have a plural.
Why confuse the genus in the word "tulle"
Yes, indeed, why even fairly educated people are wondering what kind of word “tulle” is in Russian? It's simple, this happens by analogy. Regardless of what the speaker means, the fabric or the curtain, these are feminine words.
Another analogy in the subconscious mind occurs with the words 3 declensions, such as: “night”, “daughter”, “mouse”. The declension system has changed a lot since its inception, and not all words ending in a soft sign are now feminine, as many borrowings have appeared.
At the time of borrowing the word, the Russian nobility was very familiar with the French, and for them it was obvious what kind of "tulle" in the Russian language. But people, far from balls and social events, bowed the word by analogy with the words they knew. This society left Russia after the revolution, and few people remembered how to speak correctly. Thus, the word acquired a “new” generic affiliation. People substitute a gender for a noun by analogy, and in most cases it works, but not always.
People are simply unaccustomed and alien to what kind of “tulle” in Russian actually is. A similar story happened with the word "coffee", which according to the rules of the masculine, but very often used on average.
Regardless of what many say incorrectly, one must strive to perfectly know the true rules of the language. Learning the rules by heart is a huge step towards this, but there will always be words whose gender you just need to remember. Almost all of them are borrowed, and most of them are from the French language. As an example, one can mention the "piano", "piano", "corn", with their kind it was also not always clear.