| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le bassin | pond (small) | pwll | poull |
| l’étang (m) | pond (larger) | llyn | stank; lenn; loc’h |
| la mare aux canards; la canardière | duck pond | pwll hwyaden | poull houad |
| le nymphéa le nénuphar |
water lily | lili’r dwr; alaw | loar-zour; skudell-zour |
| la grotte la caverne |
cave | ogof | mougev; megin; kavarn |
| la peinture rupestre | cave painting | paentiad mewn ogof | liverezh-reier |
| l’homme des cavernes le troglodyte |
cave dweller | preswylydd ogof | tud ar mougevioù |
| la periode glaciaire | the Ice Age | Oes yr Iâ; Oes y Rhew | marevezh ar Skorn-bras |
| le guerrier | warrior | gwron; rhyfelwr; milwr | brezeler |
| enchanté; ravi | delighted | balch; llawen; wrth dy fodd | plijet bras |
| en service | on duty | ar ddyletswydd; ar wasanaeth; ar alwad | o vont |
| le grimace le froncement de sourcils |
frown | gwg; cuwch; cilwg | ard; grim |
| froncer les sourcils | to frown | gwgu; cuchio; crychu talcen; cilygu | ardaouiñ |
| le sous-traitant | sub-contractor | isgontractwr; isgytundebwr | eilkevratour |
| sous-traiter | to subcontract | isgontractio; isgytundebu | eilkevratiñ; eil tretañ; eil feuriañ |
Category: Welsh (Cymraeg)
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| coquin; fripon; polisson; vaurien | rascal; scamp | dyn drwg; cnaf; cenau; dihiryn | lañfre; lachefre |
| petit chenapan! | little rascal! | y gwalch bach! y mawrddrwg! yr ellyll bach! | |
| déchiffrer; décrypter | decipher | datrys; dehongli | disifrañ |
| toutes les deux semaines | every other week | bob yn ail wythnos | |
| un(e) … sur deux | every other … | bob yn ail … | |
| la date/heure limite; le délai | deadline | dyddiad cau; adeg cau; pen set | deiziad/eurioù diwezhañ; termen |
| le numéro d’immatriculation | registration number | rhif cofrestru | niverenn-varilh |
| la plaque d’immatriculation | number plate | plât rhif | plakenn-varilh |
| piloter (un avion) | to fly (a plane) | hedfan (awyren) | pilotañ |
| voler | to fly (planes, birds) | hedfan | nijal |
| aller en avion | to fly (by plane) | hedfan | mont da karr-nij (?) |
| le tableau de bord | dashboard | borden flaen; panel deialau | |
| la cachette | hideout | cuddfan; cuddfa | kuzhiadell; kuzh; toull-kuzh |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le tonnerre et la foudre | thunder and lightning | mellt a tharanau | kurun e luc’hed |
| l’éclair (m) | a flash of lightning | mellten; llucheden | luc’hed, foeltr |
| l’éclair en zigzag | forked lightening | mellt fforchog | |
| l’éclair en nappe(s) | sheet lightening | dreugiau | |
| être foudroyé | to be struck by lightning | wedi ei daro gan mellt | |
| le paratonnerre | lightning conductor | rhoden fellt/luched | diskuruner; par(a)gurun |
| la cannaberge | cranberry | llugaeronen; cryglusen | |
| le projet | plan (intention) | bwriad | raktres |
| la maison jumelée | semi-detached house | ty pâr | |
| le fer à cheval | horseshoe | pedol (y march) | houarn-marc’h |
| le serment | oath (formal promise) | llw | le |
| la brouette | wheelbarrow | berfa; whilber | chirigot |
| entraînant | catchy | cofiadwy; bachog | joudoul |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le grand-bi (vélo) | penny-farthing (bicycle) | beic peni-ffardding; ceffyl haearn | |
| rebondir | to bounce | rhybedio; trybowndio; sboncio | adlammat |
| le gros titre | headline | pennawd | |
| la course | race (competition) | ras | redadeg |
| l’interprète | performer (musician) | perfformiwr; chwaraewr | kaner; c’hoarier |
| performe(u)r | performer (athlete) | perfformiwr | |
| originaire/natif (d’un pays) | native (of a country) | brodor | genidik |
| indigène | native (original inhabitant) | brodor | henvroat |
| le pays natal | native country | mamwlad; gwlad enedigol | mammvro |
| la langue natale | native language | mamiaith; iaith frodorol | yezh vamm; yezh e gavell |
| locateur natif | native speaker | siaradwr brodorol | komzer orin |
| c’est un français de souche | he’s a native Frenchman | brodor Ffrainc ydy o | |
| endémique | native (plant) | brodorol | brosezat |
| la (voiture) décapotable | convertible (car) | car codi; car to clwt | karr to-disto |
| terrifié | terrified | dychrynedig; mewn ofn | |
| l’épouvantail (m) | scarecrow | bwgan brain | spontailh |
| la forêt tropicale humide; la forêt pluviale | rain forest | fforest law | forest lav |
| le defaut d’élocution | speech impediment | nam ar leferydd | |
| le jour de congé; la journée libre | day off | diwrnod rhydd; diwrnod i’r brenin | |
| le briquet | (cigarette) lighter | taniwr (sigaréts) | direnn |
| le short | shorts | siorts | bragoù berr |
Le Grand-Bi
I discovered today the French term for a penny-farthing bicycle (pictured right) is le grand-bi. It is also known as a bicycle, and that was what they were usually called in English when they were popular in the 1880s. The name penny-farthing only came to be used in around 1891.
The penny-farthing, which is also known as a high wheel or high wheeler, was developed by James Starley in England and Eugene Meyer in France in about 1870. They were based on the French boneshaker or vélocipède, a term from Latin meaning “fast feet” and coined by Nicéphore Niépce in 1818. The large front wheel enabled higher speeds as with each turn of the pedals you could go further, however sudden stops would often send a rider flying over the handle bars, so penny-farthings lost out to safety bicycles, which were introduced in the 1890s, and were the ancestors of modern bicycles.
I think the French name is short for le grand bicycle, and the name penny-farthing comes from the fact that front wheel was a lot larger than the back one, like an old penny coin and a farthing (1/4 of a penny).
In Welsh such bicycles are known as beic peni-ffardding or ceffyl haearn (“iron horse”).
Do you have other names from them? Are or were such bikes used in your country? Have you ever ridden one?
I once rode a small, modern version of a penny-farthing at a bike show in Taipei. It was interesting, and I soon learnt that you have get off by stepping down to the rear as trying to dismount like on a normal bicycle doesn’t work and can leave you sprawling on the floor.
One of the guys at the circus on Wednesday night was riding a penny-farthing, which is why it came up in conversation.
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le dioxyde de carbone | carbon dioxide | carbon deuocsid / deuocsid carbon | dioksidenn garbon |
| l’onduleur; l’inverseur | (electrical) inverter | gwrthröydd | gwagenner; ginader |
| l’échafaudage (m) | scaffolding | sgaffaldiau; sgaffaldwaith | chafotaj |
| le compteur [kɔ̃tœʀ] (d’électricité) | (electricity) meter | mesurydd (trydan) | konter (tredan) |
| le parcmètre | parking meter | cloc/mesurydd parcio | parkmetr |
| la coupure [kupyʀ] de courant | power cut | toriad trydan | troc’h tredan |
| passer | to flow (electrical current) | llifo | flistrañ |
| l’essaim (m) [esɛ̃] | swarm | haid | barr; hedd; taol; tokad |
| se regrouper en masse; essaimer | to swarm (bees) | heidio | adtaoleiñ; adtaoler; barrañ; flac’hediñ; hediñ; taoler hed |
| les tong (fpl) | flip-flops | fflip-fflops | soledennoù; solennoù |
| alcootest®; éthylotest; éthylomètre | breathalyzer® | alkotest; etilotest; etilometr | |
| le tonneau; le fût | cask | casgen; baril; hogsied | tonell; fust |
| la taupe | mole | gwadd; twrch daear | goz |
| tapeur; crocheteur | scrounger | chwiwleidr; crafangwr | suner; klocheder |
| l’assignation (f) à comparaître | (court) summons | gwŷs | |
| recevoir une assignation à comparaître | to be served a summons | derbyn gwŷs | |
| la déposition | (legal) statement | mynegiad; datganiad | testeni |
Gwymona
While putting together this week’s mots de la semaine, some of the interesting words and phrases that come in the French conversation group I go to on Thursday evenings, I discovered the Welsh word gwymona [gʊɨˈmɔna], which means “to gather seaweed (for fertilizer)” – an interesting and specific meaning.
It comes from the word for seaweed, gwymon and suggests that seaweed and the gathering of it was sufficiently important in Wales for there to be a verb for it.
Are there a similar verbs in other languages?
A type of seaweed known as laver (porphyra umbilicalis) is sometimes eaten in Wales as a cold salad with lamb or mutton; heated and served with boiled bacon; or eaten in the form of laverbread (bara lawr), which is made from laver that is boiled for several hours, then minced or pureed, mixed with oatmeal and fried. Traditionally laverbread was eaten for breakfast with cockles and bacon.
Laver is far more commonly eaten in East Asia, especially in Japan, where it is known as 海苔 (nori), in Korea, where it’s called 김 (gim), and in China, where it’s known as 紫菜 (zǐcài).
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le vers | verse | pennill | poz |
| le refrain | chorus | corawd | diskan |
| le réseau (électrique) | (electricity) grid | rhwydwaith (trydan) | rouedad (tredan) |
| la charrette | (horse-drawn) cart | cart; trol | karr |
| le cheval de trait | cart horse | ceffyl gwedd/gwaith/cart | kezeg tenn |
| metter la charrue avant les bœufs | to put the cart before the horse | rhoi’r cart/drol o flaen y ceffyl | |
| se concentrer sur | to concentrate on | canolbwyntio ar | en em dopliñ war |
| porter son attention sur | to concentrate one’s attention on | canolbwyntio ar | en em dopliñ war |
| la colombe | dove | colomen | koulm |
| la pensée latérale | lateral thinking | meddwl ochrol; meddwl wysg eich ochr | soñj gostez (?) |
| un vieil ami | an old friend | hen gyfaill | kamarad kozh (?) |
| les algues (fpl) | seaweed | gwymon | bezhin |
| gaspiller | to squander (money) | gwastraffu; afradu | digalzañ |
| gâcher | to squander (chances) | gwastraffu | priennañ |
| travail en retard | backlog of work | llwyth o waith yn aros i’w wneud | |
| les séquences | footage (filmed material) | ffilm | laziad |
| creuser | to dig (a hole) | palu; cloddio | kleuzañ |
| bêcher | to dig (the garden) | claddu | palat |
| taper (qch à qn) | to scrounge (sth off sb) | begera (rhywbeth gan rywun) | |
| mettre l’accent sur qch | to put emphasis on sth | pwyleisio ar rywbeth |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| prendre des libertés | to take liberties | bod yn hy[f]; beiddio gwneud rhth | monet / mont re frank ouzh ub |
| le devis | quotation (estimate) | pris | rakpriz |
| la citation | quotation (from book) | dyfynnu | arroudenn |
| les guillemets (m) | quotation marks | dyfynodau | klochedigoù |
| les arrhes (m) | deposit (refundable) | blaendal (ad-daladwy) | arrez |
| l’acompte (m) | deposit (non refundable) | blaendal (di-ad-daladwy) | rannbae |
| hors taxes; exempté de douane | duty-free | di-doll; tollrydd | pep taos er-maez |
| le chargement | load (things carried) | llwyth | fard |
| il pleuviote | it’s spitting (with rain) | mae hi’n pigo bwrw / taflu dafnau | pleuvasser a ra |
| la bruine; le crachin | drizzle | glaw mân; gwlithlaw; manlaw; brithlaw | ailhenn |
| éthique; moral | ethical | ethic | buhezegezh; divezel |
Archerien
An interesting word that came up in my Breton lesson today is archerien, which means police. It caught my attention because it has no obvious connection to the word police, and because it is completely different to the equivalent words in other Celtic languages:
– Welsh: heddlu (“peace force”)
– Cornish: kreslu (“peace host”)
– Irish: gardaí (síochána) (“guards of peace”); póilíní
– Manx: meoiryn shee (“peace keepers/stewards”); poleenyn
– Scottish Gaelic: poileas
The English word police comes from the French police (public order, administration, government), from the Latin polītīa (state, government), from the Greek πολιτεία (politeia – citizenship, government, administration, constitution). It is shares the same root as policy, politics, politician and various other words [source].
Many languages use variants on the word police, e.g. Politsei (Estonian), პოლიცია (polits’ia – Georgian), Polizei (German), पुलिस (pulis – Hindi), پلیس (pulis – Persian), Booliis (Somalia), Policía (Spanish), Pulis (Tagalog), but some do their own thing:
– Bavarian: Kibara
– Chinese: 警察 (jǐngchá); 公安 (gōng’ān)
– Faroese: Løgregla
– Greek: Αστυνομία (Astynomía)
– Hungarian: Rendőrség
– Icelandic: Lögregla
– Japanese: 警察 (keisatsu)
– Korean: 警察 (gyeongchal)
– Thai: ตำรวจ (tảrwc)
Are there other examples of languages with a word unrelated to police for police?