French is full of learned words that do not fail to have an effect on an audience. 371967772/ajr_images – stock.adobe.com
“Areopagus”, “Parthenomachy”… Do you know the meaning of these scholarly terms? The editors offer you an anthology.
“Of course I know what parthenomachy is!” We all know someone around us who claims to know the meaning of a fancy word. But if we dig a little, we find that this is not the case… And for that matter, the French language is queen! It is full of learned words that do not fail to make a small impact on an audience. The editors invite you to (re)discover five of them to shine at your next summer social events.
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● tantalum
“This girl excites me”. A teenager is unlikely to use this verb today. “Tantalize” means “to inspire someone with desires they cannot gratify,” the French language treasure informs. A “tantalum” is “a person who longs for something that is unattainable for him”. The word was coined from the name of Zeus’ son, Tantalus. The latter was condemned by the gods to the eternal torment of not being able to get hold of the food and drink laid out in front of him.
● Areopagus
Contrary to appearances, the word has nothing to do with the world of aviation. An “areopagus” (and not “aeropagus” as it is sometimes understood) denotes a more or less solemn assembly of people who come together to discuss matters within their jurisdiction. Ironically, according to CNRTL, it’s also the name of a group “without skill or conscience.” In ancient times, the Areopagus was the hill dedicated to the god Ares in Athens, located west of the Acropolis and chosen as the place of assembly.
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● Parthenomachy
The next time you list your pickups for the summer, use that word! It’s sure to amplify your audience’s attention… Parthenomachy is the struggle to impose itself on young girls. In Pitié pour les femmes, Montherlant writes: “Don’t you see how much fewer parents will distrust me, how much my parthenomachy will be relieved if I am to be ‘a gentleman who doesn’t like women’?”. The word was coined from the Greek parthenos, “virgin,” and mákhē, “fight.”
● scrapbook
The scrapbook is a collection of notes, documents or texts. This term has a funny history, as it originally belongs to the field of agriculture. Borrowed from the Latin spicilegium, “action of reading”, according to the dictionary it once meant “pick up, collect ears”. Its meaning evolved into “collection of various documents” in the 17th century, before being called “collection, selection of pieces, thoughts, observations” in the 19th century.
● (Become) Enlightened
This pretty poetic word is used to describe what is “lit by the moon,” we read in the thesaurus. We find it in Rimbaud, in Poésies: “When, swept by the scents of the day, the garden and back house lit up in winter (…) He listened to the swarming of scabby trellises”. Derived from Moon, after Illuminator, “Illunate” is too often ostracized from our current conversations. Until…