« Poisson d'avril » chez Eloy d'Amerval, Le Livre de la Deablerie (AMBIGUOUS)

1507

Eloy d'Amerval's Le Livre de la Deablerie contains the line 'Maquereau infâme de maint homme et de mainte femme, poisson d'avril'. IMPORTANT: CNRTL dates the work 1507-08 (the earliest year of that range is used) and gives the same sense as Michault's 1466 attestation, a pimp or go-between, paired with 'maquereau' (mackerel/pimp), NOT an April 1st joke. It is very frequently miscited online as the first reference to April Fools' Day; the link between the 'mackerel' sense and the 'April prank' sense remains unexplained by lexicographers.