For many of us, the verb bray characterizes the cry of the donkey, the donkey or their colts.
However, in the north of France and in Wallonia, it is used instead of crying.
An exasperated mother can say to her child: “
Stop braying!
» or report to her husband that the little one «
hasn't stopped braying all day
».
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The Academy specifies that this verb “
is used only in the infinitive, with the exception of fabulists who, making donkeys talk, could use it without hesitation for other people.
»
Braire is derived, the etymological dictionaries tell us, from a popular Latin
bragere
derived from a root
brag
which is closer to the Gaelic
braigh
(to crack, to crackle).
Excerpt from
The most beautiful expressions of our regions
.
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