Re: Etymology

Tone a écrit: 
I have just finished a translation of Mont Oriol by Guy de Maupassant.
In it the words "parbleu" and "sacrebleu" are used frequently and were
not translated for some reason.

I found out that literally these mean:

Parbleu - by blue
Sacrebleu - Sacred blue

and by context it is obvious that these are mild explatives.

Can anyone give me more specifics on the etymology of this?


"Bleu" stood for "Dieu". GOD for GWB.
"Parbleu" is still used , but means "of course".
"Sacrebleu" seems perfectly obsolete today. "Sacrédié" as well.
"Palsambleu" - par le sang de Dieu, by the blood of God - is only found in cheap "historic" novels.

"Nom de Dieu" is still in use, but blasphemy has not the same impact in France as is has in Quebec.
Expletives (euphémismes ?) are less and less used in modern France.
kodok

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