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  3. Medical: Health Care

récupérer

English translation: appropriated

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:récupérer
English translation:appropriated
Entered by: Wyley Powell

16:41 Mar 30, 2020
French to English translations [PRO]
Science - Medical: Health Care
French term or phrase: récupérer
A headline in Le Point :

Ils avaient tous ***récupéré" le coronavirus. Écologistes, nationalistes, anticapitalistes… Tous voient dans cette crise la confirmation de leurs présages et la validation de leurs théories.
Wyley Powell
Canada
Local time: 23:44
appropriated
Explanation:
They appropriated or seized the coronavirus crisis as an argument to promote their cause.
Selected response from:

Marco Solinas
Local time: 20:44
Grading comment
Thx so much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7seize upon
Thomas Miles
3 +6appropriated
Marco Solinas
3 +2have taken advantage of (the corona virus crisis)
Barbara Cochran, MFA
5jumped on the Coronavirus bandwagon
SafeTex
3 +1staked a claim to ... (reclaimed)
Timothy Rake
4used for their promotion
Drmanu49
3 +1to draw upon
Lisa Jane
3hijack
Liath Gleeson


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
staked a claim to ... (reclaimed)


Explanation:
for sure this is a "strange" usage and translation of the term, but I do believe it is used in the sense that they "staked a claim" to the corona virus as proof that they were right in someway about how things are going wrong.

Timothy Rake
United States
Local time: 20:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard: I like "appropriated" too.
32 mins
  -> Thanks Phil ...yes "appropriated" has the same sense
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
used for their promotion


Explanation:
IMO

Drmanu49
France
Local time: 05:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 736

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Thomas Miles: for the promotion of their principles/ideology
39 mins
  -> Yes
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
appropriated


Explanation:
They appropriated or seized the coronavirus crisis as an argument to promote their cause.

Marco Solinas
Local time: 20:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Thx so much.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Thomas Miles: Good suggestion!
36 mins
agree  liz askew
44 mins
agree  Tony M: Yes, the verb 'récupérer' is often used like this to translate 'appropriate' in modern usage.
59 mins
agree  Yolanda Broad
2 hrs
agree  mchd
3 hrs
agree  Carol Gullidge: Or possibly embraced
4 hrs
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
hijack


Explanation:
I'm not certain that "hijack" is the appropriate register, but I think the meaning is more or less accurate.

See the "pejorative" definition of récupérer from Larousse, below:

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/récupérer/672...

Liath Gleeson
Denmark
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Thomas Miles: A valid suggestion.
30 mins
  -> Thanks, Thomas.
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
have taken advantage of (the corona virus crisis)


Explanation:
Another possibility.

To promote their agendas.

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 23:44
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Dumaz & Cowling: A good alternative
3 hrs
  -> Merci beaucoup!
agree  Pantelitsa Gaudineau-Mallas: I like this option.
9 days
  -> Merci, Pantelitsa!
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
seize upon


Explanation:
With the advantage that this suggestion is slightly aligned with the original (admittedly dead) metaphor of 'taking'.

Thomas Miles
France
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sue Davis
24 mins
  -> Thanks
agree  Eliza Hall
40 mins
  -> Thanks
agree  Lara Barnett
3 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Paul Stevens
3 hrs
  -> Thanks
agree  Cyril Tollari
4 hrs
  -> Merci
agree  erwan-l
10 hrs
  -> Merci
agree  Julie Barber
16 hrs
  -> Thanks
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to draw upon


Explanation:
the use of récupérer here sounds like to draw upon something, to retrieve it, to pull something out of the bag, in order to back you up.
Maybe even to bring/call into play. I understand the French is similar to 'exploit' which could work but perhaps a bit too strong.


Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Johannes Gleim: No, I think, 'exploit' is the real meaning, the newspaper does headline.
6 hrs
  -> OK thanks, so you're saying it could work here as it is a headline? I wasn't sure so I suggested some weaker alternatives
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1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
jumped on the Coronavirus bandwagon


Explanation:
A late entry so I doubt there are any agrees left for poor old little me :) but I think this expression deserves to be in the suggestions


    https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jump_on_the_bandwagon
SafeTex
France
Local time: 05:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Thomas Miles: This definitely sprang to my mind. But maybe bandwagons are always spoken of in a disparaging tone that would not be fitting for the actual ongoing death toll of this crisis?
2 days 16 hrs
  -> Hello Thomas. I thought the writer was being disparaging?!?!?
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