arrière-grand-père
The English phrase "great grandfather" is translated into French as arrière-grand-père.
arrière-grand-père refers to the father of a person's grandparent.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of arrière (back/behind), grand (big/great) and père (father).
Did you know?
- Unlike English, where 'great' can mean 'wonderful' or 'excellent', the French term arrière-grand-père contains no words that imply the person was an extraordinary or amazing man.
- The word arrière in arrière-grand-père comes from the same linguistic root used for the 'rear' of a vehicle or the 'back' of a house.
- In traditional French genealogy, the term aïeul can be used as a poetic or formal word for any ancestor, including an arrière-grand-père.
Examples in context
- Mon arrière-grand-père était forgeron.My great-grandfather was a blacksmith.This sentence is useful for talking about a great grandfather's profession using arrière-grand-père.Tatoeba #10998803 by Rovo, translation #10990060 by shekitten
- Mon arrière-grand-père est toujours en vie.My great-grandfather is still alive.This sentence is useful for stating that a great grandfather is still living using arrière-grand-père.Tatoeba #9481048 by felix63, translation #11677493 by tieguy
- L'arrière-arrière-grand-père de Tom était pirate.Tom's great-great-grandfather was a pirate.This sentence shows how to refer to a great-great-grandfather using the form arrière-grand-père.Tatoeba #7748208 by felix63, translation #1092151 by CK
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Nathan are looking at an old family photo album.
- EmmaC'est ton arrière-grand-père sur cette photo ?Is that your great grandfather in this photo?
- NathanOui, c'est mon arrière-grand-père paternel.Yes, it is my paternal great grandfather.
- EmmaIl a l'air très gentil.He looks very kind.
- NathanIl l'était vraiment.He really was.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries arrière-grand-père, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
