"Of course I know what parthenomachy is!"
We all know someone around us who claims to know the meaning of a fancy word.
But by digging a little, we realize that this is not the case... And in this matter, the French language is queen!
It is full of erudite words which do not fail to produce their small effect on an audience.
The editorial staff invites you to (re)discover five of them, to use to shine during your next summer social events.
” READ ALSO – Five single-use words
● Tantalum
“She tantalizes me”
.
Chances are you've never come across this rare, literary verb in conversation.
“Tantalize”
means
“to inspire someone with desires that he cannot satisfy”
, informs the Treasury of the French language.
A
“tantalum”
is
“a person who longs for something that is inaccessible to him”
.
The word was coined from the name of the son of Zeus, Tantalus.
The latter was condemned by the gods to the eternal torture of not being able to reach the food and drink laid out before 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) designates a more or less solemn assembly of people gathered together, who debate matters within their competence.
Ironically, it is also the name of a group
"devoid of skills or conscience"
, according to the CNRTL.
During Antiquity, the Areopagus was the Hill consecrated to the god Ares, in Athens, located west of the Acropolis, and chosen as a meeting place.
● Parthenomachy
Next time you talk about your summer conquests, use this word!
It is certain that you will reinforce the attention of your audience... Parthenomachy, rare and literary, is the struggle to impose itself on young girls.
In
Pitié pour les femmes
, Montherlant writes:
"Don't you see how much less parents will mistrust me, how much my parthenomachy will be facilitated, if I am supposed to be 'a gentleman who does not like women'?"
.
The word coined itself from the Greek
parthenos
,
"virgin"
, and from
mákhē, "combat"
.
● Scrapbook
The
scrapbook
is a collection of notes, documents or texts.
This term has a funny history, since it originally belongs to the field of agriculture.
Borrowed from the Latin
spicilegium, "action of gleaning"
, it once meant
"to pick up, to collect ears"
, according to the dictionary.
Its meaning evolved in the 17th century to say:
“collection of various documents”
, before designating in the 19th century a
“collection, choice of pieces, thoughts, observations”
.
● (Get) Illuminated
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, washed with the smells of the day, the garden and Behind the house, in winter, lit up (...) He listened to the scabby espaliers swarming”
.
Derived from
moon
, after
illuminating
,
“illunate”
is too often ostracized from our current conversations.
Until...
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