Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
un cirque (montagneux)
English translation:
a cirque
Added to glossary by
Hacene
Apr 20, 2004 12:09
20 yrs ago
5 viewers *
French term
un cirque (montagneux)
French to English
Social Sciences
Geography
Have found nothing satisfactory: "(mountainous) cirque" does not seem transparent to me. N.B. that this is not for a scientific text. Any suggestions welcome. D'avance merci.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +5 | a cirque or a circular depression |
Hacene
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| 4 +2 | cwm |
David Alun Jones
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| 3 +2 | closed-in valley or mountain valley |
Emérentienne
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Proposed translations
+5
4 mins
Selected
a cirque or a circular depression
cirque in English does apply only to mountains and is the received names. yet you can use a small descriptive paraphrase if you want non-specialist to understand
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Note added at 25 mins (2004-04-20 12:34:39 GMT)
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It is not a valley but a depression, a hollow.
in so far as Cecile\'s comment is concerned: You are looking at the Larousse dictionary, I am looking at the OED dictionary.
a cirque or a steep-sided bowl-shaped hollow on a mountain side
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Note added at 25 mins (2004-04-20 12:34:39 GMT)
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It is not a valley but a depression, a hollow.
in so far as Cecile\'s comment is concerned: You are looking at the Larousse dictionary, I am looking at the OED dictionary.
a cirque or a steep-sided bowl-shaped hollow on a mountain side
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
forli
: http://www.piquaclimber.com/past/sl/sl.htm http://www.northerncanada.worldweb.com/PhotoGallery/Mountain...
3 mins
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cheers Forli for the comment and the links
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| agree |
hodierne
: Cirque: See The New Oxford Dictionary of English
6 mins
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cheers Hodierne
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| neutral |
Emérentienne
: a cirque is semi-circular not circular, please use your confidence rating with a little more modesty :) Larousse : dépression semi-circulaire, à bords raides, d'origine glaciaire
7 mins
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cirque: steep-side bowl shaped hollow on a mountain
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| agree |
Aisha Maniar
: cirque in English :-)
17 mins
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cheers Aisha
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| agree |
Tom Bishop
: cirque or corrie = semi-circular hollow, bowl-shaped recess, cwm (Welsh)
1 hr
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cheers Tom
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| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
16 hrs
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cheers Vicky
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
7 mins
closed-in valley or mountain valley
but cirque really is the official translation for the French word
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Note added at 20 mins (2004-04-20 12:29:53 GMT)
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semi-circular mountain valley, a cirque really is not a circular thing, its shape is that of an amphitheatre.
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Note added at 38 mins (2004-04-20 12:47:45 GMT)
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Pas amphithéâtre mais en forme de théâtre (en arc de cercle), merci David.
Cela étant, l\'\"amphi\" des facs françaises est en arc de cercle, pour ne pas simplifier :)
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Note added at 20 mins (2004-04-20 12:29:53 GMT)
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semi-circular mountain valley, a cirque really is not a circular thing, its shape is that of an amphitheatre.
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Note added at 38 mins (2004-04-20 12:47:45 GMT)
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Pas amphithéâtre mais en forme de théâtre (en arc de cercle), merci David.
Cela étant, l\'\"amphi\" des facs françaises est en arc de cercle, pour ne pas simplifier :)
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
David Sirett
: Just to be picky (which translators should be, of course!) and amphitheatre is circular (or oval), not semi-circular.
22 mins
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you are absolutely right, David, thank you for being picky :)
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| agree |
Mario Marcolin
: cirque valley/closed-in valley
2 hrs
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merci
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| agree |
Marina Kutsnashvili (X)
21 hrs
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+2
2 hrs
David Alun Jones
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, Italian to English, and 1 more.
cwm
cirque and cwm (from Welsh) are interchangeable terms. Dictionary definition: a semicircular or crescent-shaped basin with steep sides and a gently sloping floor formed in mountainous regions by the erosive action of ice.
I think cwm is used more frequently in UK English. Mount Everest has a "Western Cwm".
An alternative term is "corrie" used in Scotland.
I think cwm is used more frequently in UK English. Mount Everest has a "Western Cwm".
An alternative term is "corrie" used in Scotland.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Charlie Bavington
: Remember from schooldays in London that we used the term "cwm" not cirque.
57 mins
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| agree |
ACOZ (X)
7 hrs
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Discussion