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Laura's French Language Blog

By Laura K. Lawless, About.com Guide to French Language since 1999

Mot du jour: déferler

Friday May 9, 2008
Learn a French word every weekday!
More: French vocabulary | Daily French

Comments

May 14, 2008 at 9:13 am
(1) Andrew Miles says:

I tried saying:

Peux-tu m’aider à déferler la voile

to a French colleague but was told déferler can only be used for the spread of ideas and people. The correct French is:

Peux-tu m’aider à gréer la voile

May 14, 2008 at 9:29 am
(2) Laura K Lawless says:

Bonjour -

Ma correctrice d’épreuves, qui est française, n’avait pas de problème avec cette phrase. De surcroît, “gréer” veut dire “to rig, hoist” et non pas “to unfurl.”

Laura K. Lawless
Learn French at About

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