Although the coq has never been chosen as an official symbol of France, it is one by default, and has been used as such since the creation of Gaule and the fall of the Roman Empire. It results from a jeu de mot: in Latin gallus is the word for both cock and the inhabitants of Gaule.
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| The poulailler or chicken run at Claude Monet's house and gardens at Giverny may well be the nicest in all of France. |
Vocabulary
un coq: a cock, rooster
le coq gaulois: the young French cock and emblem of the French fighting spirit
coquet, -ette: appearance conscious or clothes conscious; smart, stylish, flirtatious
une girouette: a weather cock or vane
déplumer: to pluck
se déplumer: to mould, to lose its feathers (bird); to go bald, to lose one's hair
"Cocorico!": imitation of the rooster crow; exclamation--often ironic--of French patriotism
un jeu de mots: a play on words
If you liked this, then click here for another photo and post about Giverny chickens.
Text & photos ©2011 P.B. Lecron
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