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et forment un bouffant de poitrine
dont l\'objet est repris en marge
May 19, 2017 07:02
7 yrs ago
5 viewers *
French term

génératrice

French to English Tech/Engineering Energy / Power Generation
Can someone explain to me the difference between "generateur" and "generatrice"? Every dictionary I consult gives them both as "generator," but my source text lists them as separate things. At one point it sounded like "generatrice" might mean DC generator, as opposed to an AC generator. Any suggestions?

This is in a aeronautics manual talking about power systems on aircraft.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +1 DC generator (dynamo)
Change log

May 23, 2017 03:07: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "generatrice" to "génératrice"

Aug 15, 2019 06:14: Tony M changed "Field" from "Science" to "Tech/Engineering"

Discussion

chris collister May 19, 2017:
Quite so. And a "fonction génératrice" is something else again. Context is all.
Daryo May 19, 2017:
to make it more interesting if you have "ligne génératrice" it might be something totally unrelated to supplying power, either AC or DC!

You really need to put these terms in context, no two ways about it.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne May 19, 2017:
I read this as an adjective, automatically. Its context sets one into a particular mindset where one expects anything "généra-" to be a noun. I don't think that is the case here though.
On the matter of context, yes, it is certainly necessary to post an extract of the original text. A complete sentence, with the one before/after is generally a good start.
Tony M May 19, 2017:
@ Asker Please give the phrase(s) where you are seeing this distinction being made; you may have to try to work out from elsewhere in your document what feminine noun is sometimes used to precede 'génératrice'; 'générateur' stands on its own as a masculine noun, but AFAIK the feminnie doesn't, so it must be simply missing its accompanying noun — for example, something like 'machine génératrice'.
You might be able to Google it by adding some other keywords to narrow the field down, and then see if any promising collocations pop up.

Proposed translations

+1
6 hrs
French term (edited): generatrice
Selected

DC generator (dynamo)

Following Tony's suggestion to Google it (merci), it seems Kristof may be correct in supposing generatrice is a DC dynamo and can be an adjective used as a noun: "Une génératrice de courant continu appelée populairement dynamo est comme beaucoup de générateurs électriques une machine tournante qui fut inventée par Zénobe Gramme. Cette machine est réversible et peut fonctionner aussi bien en génératrice qu'en moteur. Elle devient facilement un moteur électrique, ce qui implique que lors de son arrêt la dynamo doit être déconnectée de sa charge si celle-ci peut lui fournir un courant en retour : batterie d'accumulateurs, autre dynamo."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2017-05-19 13:52:26 GMT)
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The implied feminine noun phrase may be machine electrique. http://physique-eea.ujf-grenoble.fr/intra/Organisation/CESIR...
Reference:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9rateur_%C3%A9lectrique

Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M
6 days
Thanks for the inspiration
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
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