“Shout haro on the donkey.”
This funny expression keeps the word “haro” alive.
It designates a “
manifestation of indignation, of reprobation towards someone/something designated as responsible
”, as indicated by the
Trésor de la langue française
.
But do you know why we shout "
haro
"?
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The book
Juron, interjections and onomatopoeia in the Middle Ages,
by Sonia Perbal, Christophe Brichant, teaches us that the term "haro" is a deformation of the Latin "
latro
" which means "howl, growl, bark".
But "
latro
" also refers to "brigand", and the Latin expression "
ad latronem
" thus translates as "to the brigand!".
The "haro" was originally a warning cry to signal a theft but, from the end of the 12th century, according to the
CNRTL
, the term is more generally used to express distress or call for help.
We then shout "haro", for example, in case of danger.
From cry to expression
This "
demonstration of indignation
", used on the fly to "
draw attention
, [which]
makes it mandatory for those who hear it to intervene to stop the crime and arrest the culprit
" (
CNRTL
) , will then acquire a quasi-legal status and be colored by a spirit of justice.
While “haro” was only a word that was shouted, the expression “
crier haro
” was used as early as the 15th century.
"
Screaming haro
" / "
doing haro
" becomes a common expression to designate the situation where a person seeks to establish or demonstrate the guilt of another.
It is to La Fontaine that we owe the posterity of the expression.
In his fable
The Plague-Sick Animals
, the lion, the wolf, and other powerful people decide to blame an innocent donkey for causing the epidemic;
all the fault is put on the donkey: “
At these words we shouted haro on the donkey
”.