Words bloom on the stadium to the rhythm of the ballooning.
Football has its own language.
Few sports have such a rich vocabulary.
As the Euro football in France starts today, the words
"var"
,
"bearing"
,
"cape"
,
"lobed head"
,
"free kick" are
already tickling our ears.
Football is more than a sport.
"It's a religion"
say the most keen.
It is in any case a language.
Do you know what a
"panenka" is
? Let's open Vincent Duluc's tasty book,
Les mots du football
(Le gout des mots, Éditions Points, 2021). "
A
panenka
is a penalty shot by jabbing the ball, so that it climbs slowly towards the goal while the goalkeeper, expecting a powerful strike, will necessarily have chosen a side to start
." This funny term is borrowed from
"the name of a Czechoslovakian midfielder with a mustache from the 1970s"
.
Do you have any idea where the word
"capé" comes from
?
We hear it in sentences like:
"he is the most capped of players"
.
The formula was born in England in the 19th century.
The selected footballers had to appear in the stadium wearing a
"cap"
, a
"cap"
in French.
The word has entered everyday sports parlance to mean
"most selected"
.
Do you know the meaning of these football words?
Check it by doing this
Figaro
test
.
