abracadabra

(historical) a mystical word from kabbalism


motif

→ Danish: motiv

→ English: motif

→ German: Motiv
→ Romanian: motiv

→ Norwegian Bokmål: motiv

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: motiv

→ Swedish: motiv

→ Turkish: motif

Learned borrowing from Late Latin mōtivus.

lbor

pour des motifs qui échappent à tout le monde, à toute logique, à notre appréciation

for motives that escape everyone, all logic, our appreciation

Pour un motif qui m’échappe, un certain merdeux s’est mis à feindre de s’intéresser à mon bien-etre.

For some motive that escapes me, some shit started pretending to be interested in my well-being.

Bien que la faim et le dénûment nous tourmentassent quelquefois, et même à peu près toujours, rien ne nous causait autant de tourment que d’être témoins des cruautés inouïes que mon maître exerçait sur les chrétiens. Chaque jour il en faisait pendre quelqu’un ; on empalait celui-là, on coupait les oreilles à celui-ci, et cela pour si peu de chose, ou plutôt tellement sans motif, que les Turcs eux-mêmes reconnaissaient qu’il ne faisait le mal que pour le faire, et parce que son humeur naturelle le portait à être le meurtrier de tout le genre humain.

1836, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, chapter XL, in Louis Viardot, transl., L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche, volume I, Paris: J[acques]-J[ulien] Dubochet et Cⁱᵉ, éditeurs, […], →OCLC:

Even though hunger and destitution tormented us sometime, and even almost always, nothing caused us as much torment as being witnesses to the unheard-of cruelties that my master exercised on the Christians. Every day, he made someone hang; they impaled that one, they cut off this one's ears, and this for so little stuff, or rather so much without motive, that the Turks themselves recognized that he only did harm for the sake of it, and because his natural temperament brought him to be the murderer of the whole human race.


catharsis

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κάθαρσις (kátharsis).


Marianne

a female given name, a combination of Marie and Anne


héros

fr-noun

héros m (plural héros, feminine héroïne)

14th century, borrowed from Latin hērōs, from Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs). The aspiration is secondary and originated in the desire to avoid les héros sounding like les zéros. The related words remain unaspirated.

le héros de notre temps

mourir en héros


parodie

Turkish: parodi


protagoniste

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (prōtagōnistḗs).

lbor

πρωταγωνιστής

Near-synonym: héros

protagonist (the main character, or one of the main characters, in any story, such as a literary work or drama)


drame

→ Persian: درام (derâm)

Borrowed from Latin drama, from Ancient Greek δρᾶμα (drâma).

drama (something entertaining or action-packed)

Quel drame épouvantable ce matin à Laval. Il n’y a rien de pire que d’avoir peur pour son enfant. Je pense aux enfants, aux parents et aux employés.

2023 February 8, François Legault, Twitter:

What a terrifying tragedy this morning at Laval. There's nothing worse than worrying for your child. My thoughts go out to the children, the parents, and the employees.


blague

18th century, from Dutch balg. The sense “joke” (ca. 1800) from the notion of something puffed up, hence vain, fanciful.


blaguer

blaguer (infinitive)
avoir + past participle (infinitive multiword-construction)
blaguant (gerund participle present)
ayant + past participle (gerund multiword-construction participle present)
blagué (participle past)
blague (first-person indicative present singular)
blagues (indicative present second-person singular)
blague (indicative present singular third-person)
blaguons (first-person indicative plural present)
blaguez (indicative plural present second-person)
blaguent (indicative plural present third-person)
blaguais (first-person imperfect indicative singular)
blaguais (imperfect indicative second-person singular)
blaguait (imperfect indicative singular third-person)
blaguions (first-person imperfect indicative plural)
blaguiez (imperfect indicative plural second-person)
blaguaient (imperfect indicative plural third-person)
blaguai (first-person historic indicative past singular)
blaguas (historic indicative past second-person singular)
blagua (historic indicative past singular third-person)
blaguâmes (first-person historic indicative past plural)
blaguâtes (historic indicative past plural second-person)
blaguèrent (historic indicative past plural third-person)
blaguerai (first-person future indicative singular)
blagueras (future indicative second-person singular)
blaguera (future indicative singular third-person)
blaguerons (first-person future indicative plural)
blaguerez (future indicative plural second-person)
blagueront (future indicative plural third-person)
blaguerais (conditional first-person singular)
blaguerais (conditional second-person singular)
blaguerait (conditional singular third-person)
blaguerions (conditional first-person plural)
blagueriez (conditional plural second-person)
blagueraient (conditional plural third-person)
future of avoir + past participle (future indicative multiword-construction perfect)
conditional of avoir + past participle (conditional multiword-construction perfect)
blague (first-person present singular subjunctive)
blagues (present second-person singular subjunctive)
blague (present singular subjunctive third-person)
blaguions (first-person plural present subjunctive)
blaguiez (plural present second-person subjunctive)
blaguent (plural present subjunctive third-person)
blaguasse (first-person imperfect singular subjunctive)
blaguasses (imperfect second-person singular subjunctive)
blaguât (imperfect singular subjunctive third-person)
blaguassions (first-person imperfect plural subjunctive)
blaguassiez (imperfect plural second-person subjunctive)
blaguassent (imperfect plural subjunctive third-person)
blague (imperative second-person singular)
blaguons (first-person imperative plural)
blaguez (imperative plural second-person)


antagoniste

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs).

ἀνταγωνιστής


tragédie

→ Turkish: trajedi

→ Persian: تراژدی (terâžedi)


mème

Borrowed from English meme, shortened from mimeme, coined from Ancient Greek μῑμέομαι (mīméomai).

Son avenir, le duo le voit d’ailleurs plutôt sur Instagram que sur Facebook, la plate-forme d’échange d’images étant devenue le nouvel eldorado du mème.

2020 October 7, Corentin Lamy, “« Mèmes décentralisés », ou l’humour Web qui se moque autant de Paris que de la province”, in Le Monde:

Incidentally, the pair think it has more of a future on Instagram than on Facebook, the image-sharing platform having become the new El Dorado of the meme.


continuité

From continu + -ité, or borrowed from Latin continuitātem.


scénario

fr-noun

scénario m (plural scénarios or scénarii)

→ Bulgarian: сцена́рий (scenárij)

→ Romanian: scenariu

→ Turkish: senaryo

Borrowed from Italian scenario, with an acute accent to indicate the pronunciation.


il était une fois

LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï-il était une fois.wav

there was once…; once upon a time, there was… (traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales)


Faucheuse

Grim Reaper (a personification of Death as a cloaked old man or a skeleton, usually carrying a scythe)


péripétie

From Ancient Greek περιπέτεια (peripéteia).

peripeteia (sudden change in circumstances)


narrateur

narrateur m (plural narrateurs, feminine narratrice)

narrateurs (plural)
narratrice (feminine)


comédie de situation

comédie de situation f (plural comédies de situation)

LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï-comédie de situation.wav

sitcom, situation comedy (episodic comedy television program)


rebondissement

rebondissement m (plural rebondissements)


toile de fond

(theater) backdrop, background, backcloth (painted scenery at the back of a stage)


Azraël

Borrowed from Arabic عِزْرَائِيل (ʕizrāʔīl).

bor+

1963, Nicolas Bouvier, L'Usage du Monde, 2005 ed., Payot & Rivages, p. 166; translated 1992 by Robyn Marsack as The Way of the World, 2011 ed., Eland

Kurds who had trespassed into the town ran great risk of being placed on the ground with their faces in the earth instead of being put upright in the grave with their faces towards Mecca, as custom required. Azriel, the Angel of Death, would take offence at their unseemly position and refuse them entrance to Paradise.

Les Kurdes trépassés dans la ville couraient grand risque d’être enterrés à plat et face contre terre, au lieu d’être installés dans la fosse, le visage tourné contre La Mecque, comme l’exige la coutume. Ainsi Azraël, l’ange de la mort, blessé par cette posture inconvenante, leur refuserait l’accès au paradis.


diégétique

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διηγητικός (diēgētikós).


diégèse

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διήγησις (diḗgēsis).


discours direct

fr-noun

discours direct m (usually uncountable, plural discours directs)


discours indirect

discours indirect m (usually uncountable, plural discours indirects)

(grammar, narratology) reported speech, indirect speech


antihéroïque

From anti- + héroïque or antihéros + -ique.


deutéragoniste

deutéragoniste m or f by sense (plural deutéragonistes)

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek δευτεραγωνιστής (deuteragōnistḗs).

lbor

δευτεραγωνιστής


fil conducteur

fr-noun

fil conducteur m (plural fils conducteurs)

(figuratively) throughline, common thread, central theme


fr-phrase

ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants

ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d’enfants

/il ve.ky.ʁ(ə).t‿ø.ʁø e yʁ bo.ku d‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/

Literally, “they lived happily and had many children”.

lit

they lived happily ever after (used at the end of fairy tales)


fil rouge

Literally “red thread.” Probably a calque of German roter Faden (literally “red thread”).

calque

(figuratively) common thread, central theme, governing principle


discours indirect libre

free indirect speech
free indirect speech


solution de continuité

fr-noun

solution de continuité f (plural solutions de continuité)

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-solution de continuité.wav

The word solution must be understood in its first meaning of "dissolution, rupture"; hence "rupture of continuity".
Cognate with Spanish solución de continuidad.

(formal) gap, break, interruption, discontinuity


blague de cul

(informal, slightly vulgar) dirty joke, sexual joke


discours rapporté

discours rapporté m (usually uncountable, plural discours rapportés)


narrateur omniscient

narrateur omniscient m (plural narrateurs omniscients)