Jul 18, 2017 23:14
6 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

De

FVA French to English Social Sciences History
I am translating a history of Franco-Americans from 1918 (written in French in Massachusetts by a native-speaker author of French-Canadian ancestry). The abbreviation "De." is used before a man's name in a list of women participating in a church choir ("De. Arthur Gregoire"). All of the other women are just listed by first/last name. In other parts of the text, the author uses "Mme" and "Mlle" so it is neither of those. I'm wondering if this is a designation for a widow? (veuve de...)? I've never seen it before.
Change log

Jul 18, 2017 23:14: Karen Zaragoza changed "Term asked" from "Use of abbreviation \\\"De.\\\" in French" to "De" , "Term Context" from "I am translating a history of Franco-Americans from 1918 (written in French in Massachusetts by a native-speaker author of French-Canadian ancestry). The abbreviation \"De.\" is used before a man\'s name in a list of women participating in a church choir (\"De. Arthur Gregoire\"). All of the other women are just listed by first/last name. In other parts of the text, the author uses \"Mme\" and \"Mlle\" so it is neither of those. I\'m wondering if this is a designation for a widow? (veuve de...)? I\'ve never seen it before." to "I am translating a history of Franco-Americans from 1918 (written in French in Massachusetts by a native-speaker author of French-Canadian ancestry). The abbreviation \\\"De.\\\" is used before a man\\\'s name in a list of women participating in a church choir (\\\"De. Arthur Gregoire\\\"). All of the other women are just listed by first/last name. In other parts of the text, the author uses \\\"Mme\\\" and \\\"Mlle\\\" so it is neither of those. I\\\'m wondering if this is a designation for a widow? (veuve de...)? I\\\'ve never seen it before. " , "Not for Points" from "Checked" to "Not Checked"

Jul 18, 2017 23:14: Karen Zaragoza changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"

Jul 18, 2017 23:14: Karen Zaragoza changed "Vetting" from "Needs Vetting" to "Vet OK"

Discussion

Wendy Streitparth Jul 19, 2017:
Could it be a typo for Dr?
Marco Solinas Jul 18, 2017:
To: asker Is it De or De. ?

Proposed translations

+2
12 hrs
Selected

Mrs [De - Dame, from Ma Dame - Madame]

As an example, in this document the abbreviations Mde. and De. are both used to refer to the wife of Dr. J. A. Pontbriand:
M. Ernest Decelles fut nommé directeur et Mde. Dr. J. A. Pontbriand, accompagnatrice.
then elsewhere
De. Dr. J. A. Pontbriand
https://archive.org/stream/histoiredesfranc00gatiuoft/histoi...

Compare Sr Sieur, from Mon Sieur - Monsieur
http://fra.proz.com/kudoz/french_to_english/history/1027159-...

See abbreviations here
De Dame
Dlle Damoiselle, etc.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=H0-NAAAAMAAJ&q="Sr Sieur...
Peer comment(s):

agree Charles Davis : Well done. Not easy to research this.
2 hrs
Thanks, Charles!
agree Victoria Britten
18 hrs
Thanks, Victoria
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
8 hrs

widow of

it could be short for douairière
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway (meets criteria) : Dowager: La douairière est un terme de droit ancien (conventionnel ou coutumier) désignant une veuve d'un milieu aristocratique jouissant d'une part des biens de son défunt mari qui constituent son douaire. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douairière
2 hrs
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