One should not, after reading this entry, deduce that Normandy is not a hospitable region.
The use of this word is indeed a Norman specialty and, moreover, contemporary - indeed, we note in the regional daily newspaper
Ouest France
, about an evening of songs in Caen: "
Whether one is Norman or
horsain
, difficult to resist the charm of songs in patois.
»
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To read also“Do you want a schluck?”
: what does this expression mean?
A stranger to Normandy
The horsain is a person who is not Norman, who is not from the department, even from the canton, up to the commune or the district.
In "
Foreigners in the countryside
", proceedings of the Franco-British conference on rural geography - Vichy 18 and 19 May 2006 - we read: "
From the point of view of the locals, the horsain is defined as someone who is not born in the town.
In the past, when migrations outside the place of birth were rare, and marriages hardly went beyond the limits of the canton or the country of Coutances, the term horsain was only used to designate people who came from neighboring communes and therefore from allies of the natives: the son-in-law, the daughter-in-law born elsewhere.
»
Read alsoNormans, Bretons, Provençaux... Do you know these regional expressions of the French language?
Appeared in the 13th century, out of the way would be formed from the word Forain (foreigner), itself from 1170 from Latin
Foranus
(which exceeds outside), from Latin classic to
(
outside).
"
Anyway, I am an outward, like many people, since, by definition, the foreigner, here is someone who was born 50 kilometers
."
Gilles Perrault.
