Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Word Of The Week

écrin

A noun (masculine) meaning a jewelry case or a box that a ring or other jewelry is kept in. It can also mean the box where silverware is arranged and stored. And, the meaning as I learned the word : the setting or grounds around a château or other building (think of the building as the jewel, and its grounds and surroundings as the box or case). Also, a museum can be said to be un écrin for the works it contains - a showcase.

Last week, while watching a program on TV about the Château de Fontainebleau, the narrator used the word écrin to describe the gardens and grounds of the palace. I knew I had heard the word before, but I couldn't think of what it meant. Ken filled me in, then it was off to the dictionaries.

1 comment:

  1. I like your "word of the week" idea, especially since the tours are still on vacation (they were wise to pick a canicule time to be near water.)

    Ecrin is an interesting word and used in so many more ways than you'd expect.

    Good luck with your moles. My advice is to use sevin on the lawn to get rid of the grubs. We've had moles here, but my parents in Ky had the larger ones we called "gophers".

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