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Atrabilaire

February 13, 2009  by Erica Berman

alainpout
Photo Erica Berman

Over a long Parisian lunch today, my friend Thomas mentioned that he was grumpy this morning and great food and excellent company had put him in a much better frame of mind. I said to to him, “tu étais d’humeur atrabilaire ce matin.” Of the three friends at the table, all French, no-one knew the definition of ‘atrabilaire’ which means irascible, grumpy & just plain bad humor. Donc, if you want to dazzle your friends, French and Anglophone alike… try to use this word in a phrase!

“Atrabilaire désigne quelqu’un porté à la mélancolie mais aussi la mauvaise humeur, à l’irritation, à la colère. ”
Synonyms -    maussade, irascible, acariâtre, acrimonieux, bilieux, coléreux, taciturne.

Origine et histoire de « atrabilaire » Étymologie

Mot apparu au XVIe siècle, dérivé de atrabile.

Nom commun

Singulier Pluriel
atrabilaire
/a.tʁa.bi.lɛʁ/		 atrabilaires
/a.tʁa.bi.lɛʁ/

atrabilaire /a.tʁa.bi.lɛʁ/

  1. Personne inquiète.
  2. Personne atrabilaire.
    • Un ou une atrabilaire.

Adjectif

atrabilaire /a.tʁa.bi.lɛʁ/

  1. Qui caractérise une personne inquiète ou irascible.
    • « De vous dire précisément s’il y a plus de gens à lier dans un pays que dans un autre, c’est ce que mes faibles lumières ne me permettent pas; je sais seulement qu’en général les gens que nous allons voir sont fort atrabilaires. » (Voltaire, Candide)

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Written by Erica Berman

Erica BermanErica Berman grew up in Lexington,Mass. After graduating from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Journalism and an intensive summer at Middlebury College (Vermont), Erica came to Paris with hopes of submerging herself in French culture and perfecting her French -- and she never left. Erica is the founder and owner of Haven in Paris and the blog HiP Paris. She now splits her time between Paris (Montmartre), Maine (Damariscotta), Massachusetts (Lexington) and Italy (Genova). In her all-too-rare free time, Erica likes to travel off the beaten track, explore Paris, read, take photos, cook, ski, hike and enjoy long Sunday brunches with her friends.

Website: http://haveninparis.com

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Posted in French 'mot' du moment, Parisian Living | 1 Comment »

One Response to “Atrabilaire”

  • Françoise says:
    April 20, 2009 at 7:43 am

    Y a pas à tortiller, tu m’épateras toujours….
    En même temps, ça ne m’étonne qu’à moitié…Aurais-tu raté une autre vocation?
    …I dream that one day (maybe in another life) my english could (..or will, come on Françoise, be confident!) be as good as your french IS.
    Signé: Françoise, Française de Londres, et néanmoins amie……en totale admiration!!!!!

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