French Word of the Day: Amortisseur
This car-part can also have some helpful benefits when dealing with bills.
Why do I need to know amortisseur?
Because you might see the government announce more of these during times of economic trouble.
What does it mean?
Amortisseur – roughly pronounced ah-more-tee-zur – may look like it has something to do with death (given the part of the word that has mort in it), but that is far from its true definition.
This French word is defined as a “shock absorber,” the most common use being the part of your car that absorbs impact and may periodically need to be replaced.
However it also has a more figurative usage. An amortisseur when used by the French government is any aid or device intended to help citizens cope with a certain situation. For example, amid rising inflation, the government instituted an “amortisseur d'électricité” to help small businesses deal with increasing energy costs.
As a result, you might see this word more often during times when government assistance may be particularly necessary.
Use it like this
Ma voiture a besoin de nouveaux amortisseurs, je crains que cela ne soit très coûteux - My car needs new shock absorbers, I'm worried it's going to be really expensive
Face à la hausse des coûts de l'énergie et dans l'espoir d'aider les petites entreprises, le gouvernement a mis en place l'amortisseur d'électricité. – Faced with rising energy costs and in an effort to help small businesses, the government put in place the electricity shock-absorber.
Ils prévoient de donner aux ménages une forme d'amortisseur pour les aider à faire face à l'inflation. – They are planning to put some form of shock-absorber to help households cope with rising inflation.
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Why do I need to know amortisseur?
Because you might see the government announce more of these during times of economic trouble.
What does it mean?
Amortisseur – roughly pronounced ah-more-tee-zur – may look like it has something to do with death (given the part of the word that has mort in it), but that is far from its true definition.
This French word is defined as a “shock absorber,” the most common use being the part of your car that absorbs impact and may periodically need to be replaced.
However it also has a more figurative usage. An amortisseur when used by the French government is any aid or device intended to help citizens cope with a certain situation. For example, amid rising inflation, the government instituted an “amortisseur d'électricité” to help small businesses deal with increasing energy costs.
As a result, you might see this word more often during times when government assistance may be particularly necessary.
Use it like this
Ma voiture a besoin de nouveaux amortisseurs, je crains que cela ne soit très coûteux - My car needs new shock absorbers, I'm worried it's going to be really expensive
Face à la hausse des coûts de l'énergie et dans l'espoir d'aider les petites entreprises, le gouvernement a mis en place l'amortisseur d'électricité. – Faced with rising energy costs and in an effort to help small businesses, the government put in place the electricity shock-absorber.
Ils prévoient de donner aux ménages une forme d'amortisseur pour les aider à faire face à l'inflation. – They are planning to put some form of shock-absorber to help households cope with rising inflation.
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