This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. French to English
  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

fourre

English translation: folder

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:fourre
English translation:folder
Entered by: Jeanne Zang

00:38 Sep 21, 2004
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase: fourre
This is from a Swiss document:

une fourre bleue contenant divers documents provenant des archives de ...

It is obviously some kind of folder or bag, but does anyone know exactly what it is?
Jeanne Zang
United States
Local time: 09:06
folder
Explanation:
= chemise cartonnée ou plastifiée (Source: Collins French-English Dictionary)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs 40 mins (2004-09-21 06:19:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Unless it\'s a \"fourre-tout\" then it\'s a bag (porte-document)

Protection de clés, documents etc. - Parelo : protections ...
... appareil photo, documents, clés etc. avec ce grand sac fourre-tout étanche. Livré
avec poignée de transport et bandoulière. Voir guide pour dimensions ...
www.parelo.com/type.asp?type=9

Selected response from:

Allan Jeffs
France
Local time: 15:06
Grading comment
Thanks to you and also to Bourth for his extensive comments.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2folder
Allan Jeffs
5 +1sleeve
Tegan Raleigh
4Comment
Bourth (X)


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
sleeve


Explanation:
my Petit Larousse says that a "fourre" is a protective envelope for a book or record...

Tegan Raleigh
United States
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Hacene
3 hrs
disagree  Allan Jeffs: "sleeve" or "cover" for a record (vinyl) - not this context - : )
4 hrs
agree  Mark Edmundson: sorry Allan, but I still prefer this! I think a protective style sleeve could fit nicely here :-)
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
folder


Explanation:
= chemise cartonnée ou plastifiée (Source: Collins French-English Dictionary)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs 40 mins (2004-09-21 06:19:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Unless it\'s a \"fourre-tout\" then it\'s a bag (porte-document)

Protection de clés, documents etc. - Parelo : protections ...
... appareil photo, documents, clés etc. avec ce grand sac fourre-tout étanche. Livré
avec poignée de transport et bandoulière. Voir guide pour dimensions ...
www.parelo.com/type.asp?type=9



Allan Jeffs
France
Local time: 15:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7
Grading comment
Thanks to you and also to Bourth for his extensive comments.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway
11 mins
  -> Thanks Writeaway
agree  Bourth (X): Yes for folder
4 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Comment


Explanation:
Like Tegan, I find that "fourre" is a Swiss term : <<En Suisse, taie d'oreiller; envelope protectrice d'un livre, d'un cahier, d'un disque>> [Larousse Lexis]

While it is not impossible that documents be stored in a blue pillow slip, I think it unlikely.

As for the book-cover meaning, I take it this is what the French call a "protège-cahier", a plastic cover with pockets into which one slips the book cover, the sort of thing our chères têtes blondes were being equipped with a couple of weeks ago for the rentrée.

"Fourre" does not appear to be something designed for containing loose papers, like a folder, so either the term is being misused here, or, on the contrary, the blue "fourre" = book cover is being "misused" to contain loose leaves. Not a bad idea, actually, since you would have two compartments (the end pockets) in addition ot the central portion for tidying papers away.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs 52 mins (2004-09-21 10:31:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

However, dictionaries are to be distrusted, and the Web appears to indicate that (these days at least) a \"fourre\" is indeed a kind of (plastic) folder, possibly even one of those rigid \"protège-documents\" parallélépipédique (love that word!):

Fourre [n. f.]
Suisse romande : taie, housse, enveloppe protectrice, chemise, étui, pochette. Fourre de duvet : taie d´édredon.
Pour un duvet nordique il faut compter environ 260 fr. en tout pour le nettoyage, une nouvelle fourre et une centaine de grammes de flocons neufs. (Sur la Toile).
[http://suter.home.cern.ch/suter/patoisF0.html]

Dossier plastique pour feuilles de papier Fourre plastique
[http://www.francaisdesuisse.ch/ufe_suisse/valais/infos.htm]


Bourth (X)
Local time: 15:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 204
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search