Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Jul 31, 2009 09:08
14 yrs ago
French term
Joe One
Une ambience glauque
Non-PRO
French to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Artistic or social mood
I have heard this describing mood of a painting, book or song, but also a social atmosphere. I read it as 'dark' but I feel it is more subtle than this. Literally, I am aware it means a green / almost blue colour.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | dull, sordid |
Susan Nicholls
|
| 4 +4 | a murky / dreary atmosphere / feel |
Tony M
|
| 4 +2 | morose |
Atelier de Mots
|
| 3 +2 | a gloomy atmosphere |
Rachel Fell
|
| 3 +1 | drab or doleful |
Mary Teissier du Cros
|
| 4 | a sinister atmosphere |
JWood&Co (X)
|
| 3 | (dark and) creepy |
Melzie
|
Change log
Aug 3, 2009 20:05: Tony M changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/0">'s</a> old entry - "Une ambience glauque"" to ""dull, sordid""
Proposed translations
1 hr
Susan Nicholls
Native in English
Specializes in field
Meticulous attention to detail
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Catalan to English
Related KudoZ points
:
48
Selected
dull, sordid
A couple of variations on suggestions already made. Colloquially, "glauque" might translate quite well as "sordid" to speak of a social atmosphere that is not just dull, but deadly...
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Note added at 2 days6 hrs (2009-08-02 15:13:08 GMT)
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On reflection, "dull" is neither accurate nor useful - I was thinking of colloquial use to describe social situations: sordid, deadly, generally lugubrious. Etymologically, the word has nothing to do with "dark", it is a milky blue-green.
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Note added at 3 days10 hrs (2009-08-03 19:59:23 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you, I am glad the idea came in useful - to tell you the truth, I have been preoccupied looking for the "mot juste" for the last few days!
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Note added at 2 days6 hrs (2009-08-02 15:13:08 GMT)
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On reflection, "dull" is neither accurate nor useful - I was thinking of colloquial use to describe social situations: sordid, deadly, generally lugubrious. Etymologically, the word has nothing to do with "dark", it is a milky blue-green.
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Note added at 3 days10 hrs (2009-08-03 19:59:23 GMT) Post-grading
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Thank you, I am glad the idea came in useful - to tell you the truth, I have been preoccupied looking for the "mot juste" for the last few days!
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "In the contexts I have heard, sinister fits and would not be an over-interpretation. And I agree it is not dull. I also like Atelier de Mots' description of the colour, which works with this particular shade of the dark mood. And creepy also seems good. Thanks to all for great help. J1 "
+2
5 mins
morose
"Glauque" is often used to describe the opaque, liquid darkness of sea water. It is not a happy color... rather thick and greenish black. I would use "morose" to capture the sense of that.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Julie Barber
: this is how I see it too, apart from using the simple "dark" which I feel is OK
29 mins
|
| agree |
liz askew
7 hrs
|
| neutral |
Tony M
: Could certainly work in some contexts, though I feel it better describes a person's mood than, for example, the 'feel' of a picture
3 days 10 hrs
|
+1
6 mins
Mary Teissier du Cros
France
France
Native in English
France
Master's in Translation & Interpretation
Native in: English
Works in: French to English
drab or doleful
to help get the ball rolling
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
: Yes, and can sometimes also be 'mournful', where (like 'drab') it is the opposite of 'gay'
10 mins
|
|
Thanks!
|
7 mins
(dark and) creepy
I don't know if this fits your painting. It's the word the teens I know use - haunted house etc.
4 hrs
a sinister atmosphere
Depending on what the painting is depicting...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Tony M
: I feel this verges on over-interpretation
2 days 7 hrs
|
|
You might be right - I don't use the word glauque in my conversations - personally I like gloomy
|
+2
7 hrs
Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Thorough, knowledgeable and resourceful
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, Italian to English, and 4 more.
a gloomy atmosphere
or 'lugubrious'
photos -
http://www.dreamstime.com/gloomy-atmosphere-image958691
http://www.usefilm.com/Image/792709.html
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Note added at 7 hrs (2009-07-31 16:27:50 GMT)
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various instances:
http://tinyurl.com/n9jpgp
Sargent's Venice - Google Books Result
by Warren Adelson, Richard Ormond - 2007 - Art - 223 pages
It was another art colony with a community of English and American artists ... and he left behind the gray and gloomy atmosphere he had created in Venice. ...
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0300117175...
Other suggs. are good too.
photos -
http://www.dreamstime.com/gloomy-atmosphere-image958691
http://www.usefilm.com/Image/792709.html
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Note added at 7 hrs (2009-07-31 16:27:50 GMT)
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various instances:
http://tinyurl.com/n9jpgp
Sargent's Venice - Google Books Result
by Warren Adelson, Richard Ormond - 2007 - Art - 223 pages
It was another art colony with a community of English and American artists ... and he left behind the gray and gloomy atmosphere he had created in Venice. ...
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0300117175...
Other suggs. are good too.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tony M
: Yes, this is one that often works for me too
2 days 5 hrs
|
|
Thank you Tony - several possibilities, I suppose, in lack of exact context(s)
|
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| agree |
JWood&Co (X)
: Gloomy is great! If the writer had wanted to mean lugubrious they would have written *une ambiance lugubre*
2 days 20 hrs
|
|
Thank you Nils!
|
+4
29 mins
a murky / dreary atmosphere / feel
These are two more synonyms suggested by R+C, and which might apply to a picture (the first) or a social situation (the second).
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Note added at 2 days12 hrs (2009-08-02 21:45:23 GMT)
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Just yesterday, one of my friends described my flat as 'glauque' — but I'm pleased to say they just meant 'dark' or 'gloomy', as the half-closed shutters weren't letting in much of what little light there was coming from the heavily overcast evening sky.
I'm so relieved they weren't using it to mean 'sordid' or 'drab' or 'dreary', let alone 'blue-grey'!
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Note added at 2 days12 hrs (2009-08-02 21:45:23 GMT)
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Just yesterday, one of my friends described my flat as 'glauque' — but I'm pleased to say they just meant 'dark' or 'gloomy', as the half-closed shutters weren't letting in much of what little light there was coming from the heavily overcast evening sky.
I'm so relieved they weren't using it to mean 'sordid' or 'drab' or 'dreary', let alone 'blue-grey'!
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Anne-Marie Grant (X)
: dreary - fits colour and mood
6 hrs
|
|
Thanks, anne-Marie! Yes, indeed;
|
|
| agree |
George C.
: dreary
7 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Solarstone!
|
|
| agree |
B D Finch
10 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Barbara!
|
|
| agree |
Rachel Fell
: re later comment: let alone "lugubrious"!
2 days 13 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Rachel! Yes, indeed...
|
|
| neutral |
JWood&Co (X)
: dreary and murky are in the dictionary - en effet
3 days 3 hrs
|
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Quite!
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