vasistas
French
FWOTD – 10 January 2013
Etymology
At first—in 1776—spelled wass-ist-dass, from German was ist das? (“who's there?”, literally “what is that?”).
The French adopted the expression as a name for the small windows over the doors to German homes, because the inhabitants often asked the French was ist das? through the windows before letting them in.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /va.zis.tɑs/
Noun
vasistas m (plural vasistas)
- transom window (window above a door or another window)
- 1938, Francis Carco, L’Homme de Minuit:
- Jim manœuvra le cordon d’un vasistas, mais l’ouverture donnait sur la loge de Gaby Million où la vedette avait laissé ses chiens. Les bêtes se mirent à aboyer.
- Jim maneuvered a rope from the transom, but the opening overlooked the lodge where the star Gaby Million had left her dogs. The creatures began to bark.
- 1938, Francis Carco, L’Homme de Minuit:
- fortochka (small ventilation window)
Further reading
- “vasistas” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Turkish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vasisˈtas/
Noun
vasistas (definite accusative vasistası, plural vasistaslar)
- transom window (window above a door or another window)
- bottom hung window, trap window
- fortochka (small ventilation window)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.