French Word of the Day: Cliché
This French word might be familiar to English-speakers, but it has a second meaning anglophones might not be aware of.
Why do I need to know cliché?
Because you might be confused why the photography gallery is so concerned with stereotypes.
What does it mean?
Cliché - roughly pronounced klee-shay - is a familiar French word for English-speakers.
Anglophones know it to mean a stereotype, or an idea or opinion that has been overused and lacks original thought.
While the French term can also be used in this way - to describe a tired and frequently repeated truism, the word can also be used as a synonym for ‘photograph’ or ‘snapshot’ or 'image'.
The term cliché originated in the printing industry, as a way to refer to the metal plate used to reproduce an identical imprint onto a new page.
Once photography came onto the scene in the late 1800s, the word went on to describe the negatives of photos. Over time, people began to use cliché to describe any printed photograph or picture.
As such, someone (usually a member of the older generation) might ask you to show them the clichés from your family holiday - meaning they want to see the pictures you took.
You will still see this meaning used in the French press - for example, a magazine article about great photographs of the moon might be titled les incroyables clichés de la lune - or in an artistic sense to talk about a photo exhibition.
The more common word for a photograph is une photographie, while the word for a photographer is un photographe - frequently confusing English-speakers who expect those to be the other way around.
If you wanted to describe a cliché in the English sense, you're probably safer sticking with un stéréotype.
Use it like this
Le télescope de haute technologie a produit des clichés inédits de l'espace. - The high-tech telescope has produced unprecedented images of space.
Les clichés du coucher de soleil réalisés par le photographe sont incroyables. Vous pouvez acheter une copie à la galerie. - The photographer's photos of the sunset are incredible. You can buy a copy at the gallery
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Why do I need to know cliché?
Because you might be confused why the photography gallery is so concerned with stereotypes.
What does it mean?
Cliché - roughly pronounced klee-shay - is a familiar French word for English-speakers.
Anglophones know it to mean a stereotype, or an idea or opinion that has been overused and lacks original thought.
While the French term can also be used in this way - to describe a tired and frequently repeated truism, the word can also be used as a synonym for ‘photograph’ or ‘snapshot’ or 'image'.
The term cliché originated in the printing industry, as a way to refer to the metal plate used to reproduce an identical imprint onto a new page.
Once photography came onto the scene in the late 1800s, the word went on to describe the negatives of photos. Over time, people began to use cliché to describe any printed photograph or picture.
As such, someone (usually a member of the older generation) might ask you to show them the clichés from your family holiday - meaning they want to see the pictures you took.
You will still see this meaning used in the French press - for example, a magazine article about great photographs of the moon might be titled les incroyables clichés de la lune - or in an artistic sense to talk about a photo exhibition.
The more common word for a photograph is une photographie, while the word for a photographer is un photographe - frequently confusing English-speakers who expect those to be the other way around.
If you wanted to describe a cliché in the English sense, you're probably safer sticking with un stéréotype.
Use it like this
Le télescope de haute technologie a produit des clichés inédits de l'espace. - The high-tech telescope has produced unprecedented images of space.
Les clichés du coucher de soleil réalisés par le photographe sont incroyables. Vous pouvez acheter une copie à la galerie. - The photographer's photos of the sunset are incredible. You can buy a copy at the gallery
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