| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| l’avant-dernier | the last but one | yr olaf/diwethaf ond un | |
| la tuile | (roof) tile | teilsen; teilen; priddlech | teol |
| le carreau | (wall/floor) tile | teilsen (lorio/wal) | karrezenn |
| carreler | to tile (a floor) | llorio â theils; teilsio | |
| la dalle de moquette | carpet tile | teilsen garped | |
| faire la fête/la java | to have a night on the tiles | cael noson ar y criws / ar y sbri | ober bos/fest |
| l’âne (m); le cancre; l’imbécile; un(e) nullard(e) | dunce | dỳns; twpsyn; penbwl | azen; penn-karn; yann ar yod; paotr ar yod; loull |
| le bonnet d’âne | dunce’s cap | cap twpsyn/dỳns/papur; capan penbwl | |
| la loupe (grossissante) | magnifying glass | chwyddwydr | loupenn |
| à la loupe | in minute detail | mewn manylion lleiaf | |
| sous la loupe | under the microscope | dan y microsgop |
Category: French (français)
An owlfully badgered cup of tea
Yesterday I discovered that the Italian word for cup, tazza, is rather similar and possibly confusable with the word for badger, tasso, which can also mean a rate (of exchange) or a yew (tree).
It’s unlikely that if you mistakenly ask for un tasso di tè rather than una tazza di tè, you will be given a badger of tea, but it would be an easy mistake to make, especially if you know the French word for cup, tasse, or the Spanish taza, or the German Tasse, which comes from the French, which comes from the Arabic طاس (ṭās – die; bowl), from the Persian تاس (tās – die/dice).
I also discovered the wonderful word owlful, which means full of badgers, or possibly full of owls. How awful it must be to be owlful! It’s a word that should have appeared in the Harry Potter books, which are brimful of owls at points, and slightly, though not entirely, badgerless.
Sumpf
I discovered the wonderful German word Sumpf /zʊmpf/ today while putting together les mots de la semaine for this week from the French conversation group. One of the things that came in conversation was the word marsh, which is le marais or le marécage in French, and Sumpf in German, which I noticed because there’s something about the combination of mpf in a word that just appeals to me. Are there particular letter combinations that appeal to you?
Sumpf means marsh, morass, mud, bog, quagmire, mire, sump, and can also be used figuratively to refer to corruption, e.g. der Sumpf der Politik = the murky waters of politics.
Related expressions include:
– Sumpfland = marshland; swampland
– sumpfig = marshy; swampland
– Sumpfboden = marshy ground
– sumpfen = to live it up
– Sumpfdotterblume = marsh marigold
– Sumpfpflanze = marsh plant
– Sumpfgas = marsh gas
– Salzsumpf = salt marsh
The word marsh comes from the Germanic base of mere (sea, lake), which is cognate with the Latin mare, and related words in many European languages; plus the suffix -ish (of or belonging to a person or thing, of the nature or character of).
Sources: Wiktionary, Reverso, OED, bab.la dictionary
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| vaciller; danser | to flicker (light) | fflachio; neidio | trabellat; horellat |
| le vacillement | flicker (flames) | naid; dychlamiad | horelladenn |
| la lueur | flicker (light) | llygedyn | skleur |
| la coupure de courant | power cut | toriad trydan | troc’h tredan |
| le véhicule haut | high-sided vehicle | cerbyd ochrau uchel | karbed uhel (?) |
| se retourner | to overturn | troi drosodd | treiñ |
| marécageux | marshy | corslyd, corsiog, siglennog | geunieg; gwazheg |
| le marais; le marécage | marsh | cors | gwern; gwazh |
| le marais salant; le salin | salt marsh | morfa heli | palud-holen; holenek |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| se multiplier comme des lapins | to breed like rabbits | magu fel cwningod | |
| un raccourci; un moyen rapide | short cut | llwybr llygad/tarw | berradenn |
| prendre un raccourci | to take a short cut | mynd y ffordd gyntaf; dilyn llwybr llygad/tarw |
hent miliner |
| une borne | bollard | postyn; clymbost | matezh |
| faire la une; faire la première page |
to be front-page news | bod yn brif newyddion; bod ar y dudalen flaen |
bezañ a bajenn gentañ (?) |
| un demi-tour (lit); un revirement, une volte-face (fig) |
U-turn | tro pedol | hanterdro; distroenn; |
| faire volte-face | to do a U-turn (fig) | gwneud tro pedol | ober hanterdro (?) |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le gel; la gelée | frost | rhew; llwydrew; barrug | rev |
| le givre | hoarfrost | barrug; glasrew; llwydrew | kler |
| faire tourner | to spin | troi; troelli | reiñ tro |
| jouer à pile ou face | to spin a coin | taflu ceiniog | |
| inspecteur de police principal | chief inspector | Prif Arolygydd (yr Heddlu) | pennenseller polis |
| le tollé | outcry | protest; banllefo brotest; gwrthgri | hulch’o |
| un tollé général | a public outcry | protest cyhoeddus | |
| la benne | skip | sgip | benn |
| mécanique | clockwork | perfedd; clocwaith; peirianwaith | mekanek |
| marcher comme sur des roulettes | to go like clockwork | mynd fel cloc; troi fel deiol | |
| thé (de cinq heures); thé de l’après-midi |
afternoon tea | te prynhawn/pnawn; prynhawnbryd | te goude kreistez (?) |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| recommandé; prudent; conseillé | advisable | doeth; call; buddiol | erbedet; avizet |
| récurrent; périodique (math) |
recurring | dibaid; cylchol | oc’h addonet; mareadeg |
| soins intensifs | intensive care | gofal arbenning; gofal dwys |
prederioù askoridik |
| cours intensif | intensive course | cwrs carlam | staj d’an daoulamm |
| la paquet | bundle (clothing) | sypyn; swp; bwndel | pakad |
| la liasse | bundle (banknotes; newspapers | sypyn; swp; bwndel | strobad |
| un vrai boute-en-train | a bundle of fun | hwyl anfarwol | ur kaser ar cholor |
| ce n’était pas une partie de plaisir | it wasn’t a bundle of laughs | doedd hi ddim yn hwyl anfarwol | |
| coûter bonbon; coûter une fortune |
to cost a bundle/packet | costio yn ddrud; costio ffortiwn |
bezañ un dirañson |
| la brique | brick | bricsen; priddfaen | brik |
Dirks, Saxons and Messers
I discovered today that dolch is the German equivalent of dirk, the dagger that is worn in the sock in Scottish Highland dress (see photo). The dirk is known as a sgian dubh (black knife or secret knife) in Scottish Gaelic, and the word dirk, which first appeared in English as dork in the 17th century, possibly comes from the German word dolch (dagger) or dolk, which is found in Dutch, Danish and Swedish [source].
Another German word for knife is Messer, which comes from the Old High German mezzeres/mezzirahs/mezzisahs (knife), from the Proto-Germanic *matisahsą (knife), from *matiz (food) and *sahsą (knife, dagger). Messer is cognate with the Old Saxon metisahs/mezas (knife), the West Frisian mês, the Dutch mes (knife), and the Old English word meteseax (knife). [source].
The Old English word seax (knife, short sword, dagger), which appears in meteseax, shares the same root – the Proto-Indo-European *sek- (to cut) – with the Middle English sax (knife); the Danish and Swedish word sax (a pair of scissors), the Icelandic sax (a short heavy sword), and the Latin word secō (cut), as well as the English words Saxon and saw [source].
The English word mess (in the military sense of a dining hall or people who eat together) comes from a different root – from the Latin mittere (to put, place) via the Old French mets (food) [source].
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| veinard; chançard | lucky devil/bugger | cenau lwcus | chañs |
| avoir de la veine; avoir de la chance |
to be lucky | bod yn lwcus | |
| chanceux | lucky | lwcus | eürus |
| l’échapée belle | lucky escape | dianc lwcus | |
| le jour de chance | lucky day | dydd lwcus | |
| le coup de vein | lucky break | ergyd lwcus | taol -chañs |
| la cuve | tank; vat; bunker | byncer; daeardy; cerwyn | pip |
| la cellule | (prison/animal/plant) cell | cell | kellig |
| l’aquarelle (f) | watercolour | dyfrlliw | dourliv |
| boiteux | lame | cloff | kamm |
| la note | chit | darn papur | notenn |
| délicat; nauséeux; barbouillé | queasy (stomach) | sâl; swp sâl; (stumog) wan | da sevel ar galon; klañv |
| mal à l’aise | queasy (uneasy) | anesmwyth; anniddig; aflonydd | diaes |
| le cercle vicieux | vicious circle | cylch cythreulig; cylch anfad | kelc’h bac’h |
| la cote | (betting) odds | ods; ots |
Lucky and inspiring veins
I discovered yesterday that one way to say that someone is lucky in French is to say that they avoir de la veine (‘have of the vein’). I’m not sure why veins are associated with luck. Does anybody know.
Veine also means seam and inspiration.
Other expressions featuring veine and related words include:
– veiné = veined
– dans la même veine = in the same vein
– veine dramatique = dramatic inspiration
– veine poétique = poetic inspiration
– veine porte = portal vein
– veine poétique = poetic inspiration
– veine de cocu / veine de pendu = great deal of luck
– veine d’air = current of air
– veinard {n} = lucky beggar/dog
– veinard {adj} = fluky; jammy
– Sacré veinard ! = You jammy bugger!
Are there equivalents of veinard in other languages?