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a surprise attack. In French, [donner] un coup de main means "[to give] a hand" (to give assistance). Even if the English meaning exists as well (as in faire le coup de main), it is old-fashioned. coup d'état (pl. coups d'État) a sudden change in government by force; literally "hit (blow) of state."
See also External links A abricot' ("apricot"): from Catalan albercoc, derived from the Arabic al barqūq (أَلْبَرْقُوق) which is itself borrowed from Late Greek praikokkion derived from Latin præcoquum, meaning "(the) early fruit" adoble (" adobe "): from Spanish adobe, derived from the Arabic al-ṭūb (الطوب) meaning "(the) brick of dried earth" albacore (" albacore ...
Always derogatory. Trudeau's initials, P.E.T., were often used in English Canada as alternative naming, and pet (actual spelling "pète" but identical pronunciation) is French for fart. Since Trudeau was in power for many of the same years as Lévesque, the two were sometimes referenced humorously as "Ti-Pet et Ti-Poil".
A few words which have entered French are derived from English roots but are not found at all in English, such as un relooking ('a makeover'), and un rugbyman ('a rugby player'). Others are based on misunderstandings of English words, e.g.: un footing meaning 'a jog or a run' rather than 'a pediment'; un tramway meaning 'a tram', not 'a tram ...
Verlan is used by people to mark their membership in, or exclusion from, a particular group (generally young people in the cities and banlieues, although some French upper-class youth have also started using it as their slang); it is a tool for marking and delineating group identity. [3]
The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française (French pronunciation: [diksjɔnɛːʁ də lakademi fʁɑ̃sɛːz]) is the official dictionary of the French language. The Académie française is France's official authority on the usages, vocabulary, and grammar of the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal power. Sometimes ...
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Note that the word in French has retained the general meaning: e.g. château in French means "castle" and chef means "chief". In fact, loanwords from French generally have a more restricted or specialised meaning than in the original language, e.g. legume (in Fr. légume means "vegetable"), gateau (in Fr. gâteau means "cake").