etuin.

Etymology: < French étui, †estuif (2nd half of the 12th cent. in Old French as estui denoting a protective case adapted to the form of the object it is intended to hold; c1150 in Anglo-Norman in the sense ‘storehouse, repository’) < Old French estuier , estoiier to preserve, guard, keep (safe) (12th cent.), probably < post-classical Latin studiare in the specific sense ‘to look after, conserve, keep (safe)’ (see study v. and compare estudy v.). Compare tweeze n., twee n.¹Analysis of forms. The α. forms in -fe probably reflect the French variant †estuif (1514 or earlier in Middle French; compare esteuf (1418)), which may arise from analysis of the plural estuis as implying a singular in -f (compare e.g. Middle French clés , plural of clef key: see clef n.¹). Influence from later housewife n. 4 in a similar sense is very unlikely. The γ. forms in final -s may have arisen from interpretation of the plural of β. forms as singular (compare tweeze n. and see discussion at that entry), but may also reflect association with French singular nouns in which final -s is not pronounced. Parallels in Romance languages. Compare Old Occitan estuy (a1126), estug (13th cent.), Catalan estoig (13th cent.), Portuguese estojo (14th cent.). Compare also post-classical Latin estugium (1231), Spanish estuche (late 15th cent. or earlier), Italian astuccio (1618), all < Occitan. Loans into other Germanic languages. The French word was borrowed into several other Germanic languages; compare Dutch etui (1670 as †estuy), German Etui (early 18th cent.), Swedish etui (1750).