Our vocabulary is largely made up of words coming mainly from Latin with a no less influence from Greek. But it is also composed of terms from regional languages: Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Corsican, Francoprovençal, Picardy, Flemish ... Some of these regional words have migrated to French. Now the terms we use every day reveal an unsuspected story.
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See alsoFive foreign words that (unfortunately) do not exist in French
Did you know, for example, that the word "moron" is a term originating from Alpine regions where hypothyroidism (cretinism) was endemic among iodine-deficient populations? It is a word from the Latin "christianus" with a treatment of the final characteristic of the Franco-Provençal "ianu" giving "in". The semantic evolution is explained by euphemism, the word having had to be used by commiseration in the sense of "innocent", compared to the sacredness and protector of the simple-minded. It became pejorative as early as 1835 in the sense of "stupid person" because of the mocking use of the expression "Cretian of the Alps"! Even more surprising, the verb "scam" comes from the Picardy slang "harness" in the sense of "to accoutrer, transvestite".
From which region does the word "balèze" originate? Can you find the origin of the word "saquer"? Le Figaro challenges you to get a flawless test on this test.