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actes des sociétés
porteur de copies ou d'extraits du présent procès-verbal
Feb 7 17:51
3 mos ago
39 viewers *
French term

société anonyme

French to English Law/Patents Business/Commerce (general)
Does this translate as "public limited company", "stock company" or "joint stock company" ? Or something else ?
Proposed translations (English)
4 limited company (UK)/corporation (US)
4 limited liability company or public limited-liability company
4 -7 Anonymus Company
References
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socit-anonyme.asp
about the anonymous thing
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher

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Discussion

Victoria Schmidt (asker) Feb 8:
Well I value the advice of people more experienced than I to ensure I'm not settling for a suboptimal term. And thank you, AllegroTrans, for your referenced, top-notch answers and 'allegro' help. I'm sorry to have annoyed everybody here but I am very grateful for your input. Best regards and good day to everyone.
AllegroTrans Feb 8:
Well... as a qualified barrister surely you know that you cannot directly equate corporate entities between code law and common law jurisdictions
Victoria Schmidt (asker) Feb 8:
Sorry I agree there are many answers, that's why it's confusing.
Mpoma Feb 7:
Please search the archives before posting This is a basic courtesy which most people observe.
philgoddard Feb 7:
'Limited company' might work as an approximation, depending on the context, which you haven't given. But as Allegro points out, there's no point in discussing this yet again.
Emmanuella Feb 7:
Nullement. Ce document cite bien la société en français vu qu'il n'existe aucun équivalent.
AllegroTrans Feb 7:
There is no direct equivalent And it also depends on your target country
IMO the French term should be retained and the "nearest" equivalent provided in brackets
Emmanuella's reference favours US terms
Emmanuella Feb 7:
http://zgsavocats.com/en/the-various-types-of-corporate-lega...
AllegroTrans Feb 7:
Please check the glossary There are many entries for this

Proposed translations

7 hrs
Selected

limited company (UK)/corporation (US)

A limited company is a form of business which is legally separate from its owners (typically shareholders) and those appointed to run it (directors). Its defining characteristic is limited liability, which we explain below.

In the UK, all limited companies must be incorporated at Companies House and given a unique company registration number. It must have either Ltd. or Limited at the end of its company name – the founders are free to choose which. This gives the company a separate ‘legal personality’ from the people who run it. In the eyes of the law, a limited company has the same rights and responsibilities as a human.

Limited companies are governed by the requirements of the 2006 Companies Act and the company’s own articles of association. Limited companies must by law make regular filings of information to Companies House. That information is held on the public register which is available for anyone to see.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2024-02-08 01:52:55 GMT)
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A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. Under the law, corporations possess many of the same rights and responsibilities as individuals. They can enter contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes.

A distinguishing characteristic of a corporation is limited liability. Its shareholders profit through dividends and stock appreciation but they are not personally liable for the company's debts.

Almost all large businesses are corporations, including Microsoft Corporation and the Coca-Cola Company.
Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : These are only approximations
1 day 12 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : with AT. "SA" should be retained, with perhaps an approximation in brackets. Really basic stuff
1 day 12 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thank you."
-7
1 hr

Anonymus Company

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...
What is an anonymous company? An anonymous company is a corporate entity that has disguised its ownership in order to operate without scrutiny from law enforcement or the public.
Anonymous LLCs are limited liability companies where the LLC member names are not available publicly. Identities are protected by the state the LLC is registered in. Anonymous LLCs can be created by registering the business in a state where anonymous LLCs are allowed.1 Φεβ 202
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...

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Note added at 1 ώρα (2024-02-07 19:12:12 GMT)
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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...

And a small correction to the translated title: "Anonymous" (Greek term), and NOT "Anonymus" (Latin version of the term)

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Note added at 1 ώρα (2024-02-07 19:46:52 GMT)
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https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...

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Note added at 2 ώρες (2024-02-07 19:52:06 GMT)
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How to Hide Ownership of a Company?
Wondering how to hide the ownership of a company? You’ll be happy to know hiding ownership is not always done for illegal purposes – so it’s something you can do. Learn more about anonymous holding companies.5 min readupdated on February 27, 2023

Looking for a way to hide your identity as a limited liability company (LLC) owner? An anonymous LLC acts as a holding company, which is a parent business entity. There are many reasons a company may decide to do this – and they’re not always illegal. For example, you may decide to do this to protect the identity of the business owners.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=8997844...

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Note added at 18 ώρες (2024-02-08 12:28:15 GMT)
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La SA ou société anonyme est une société de capitaux : elle rassemble des personnes qui peuvent ne pas se connaître et dont la participation est fondée sur les capitaux qu'ils ont investis dans l'entreprise.
https://bpifrance-creation.fr/encyclopedie/structures-juridi...

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Note added at 18 ώρες (2024-02-08 12:29:49 GMT)
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La loi ne fixe aucun maximum au nombre des actionnaires. La société anonyme est une forme particulièrement adaptée aux grandes entreprises dont les besoins en capitaux ne peuvent pas être assurés par un cercle restreint de personnes.
https://entreprendre.service-public.fr/vosdroits/F37402

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Note added at 22 ώρες (2024-02-08 16:46:30 GMT)
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https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ανώνυμη_Εταιρεία_(ελληνικό_δίκ...

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Note added at 1 ημέρα 1 ώρα (2024-02-08 19:08:57 GMT)
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*ON THE OTHER HAND, I FOUND THIS EQUIVALENCE:
https://www.wordreference.com/fren/société anonyme
Peer comment(s):
disagree liz askew : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c...
24 mins
Your article reference serms to be quite related and I definitely agree, but I see no relation with your objection about what exactly?! Anonyme (terme français d'origine Grecque) clearly means and substantially is an "Anonymous" company.
disagree Mpoma : Oh dear
1 hr
Sorry to disappoint you, but that's the only way in this case.
disagree writeaway : Literal is completely wrong here. It's such basic terminology/Sorry to say, but this is dead wrong. Most definitely NOT 'the only way'. Definitely one of the only ways NOT to go.
2 hrs
Sorry to disappoint you too, but that's the only way in this case.
disagree AllegroTrans : Oh dear Oh dear Oh dear//Are you seriously suggesting that being a native Greek versus six native English speakers somehow means that this ridiculous suggestion is proven to be correct?
3 hrs
Sorry to disappoint you too, but that's the only way in this case.
disagree Steve Robbie : Only a lunatic would translate this word for word.
20 hrs
I can understand very well your point, just because sadly, you happen to be a non-native Greek.
disagree Daryo : Wrong method = wrong result. Had you started by checking **in French legal sources** what the term means exactly, instead of assuming that the literal translation is the right one, you would have avoided the trap.
1 day 8 hrs
My dear, it's hard to explain. There was no catch with the question in the first place. The term is of Greek origin and we use the Societe Anonyme [or Anonymous Company] par excellence.
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : sorry, but literal translation is way off
1 day 19 hrs
Thank you, have a nice evening ahead.
Something went wrong...
2 days 9 hrs

limited liability company or public limited-liability company

ma contribution
Reference:

http://www.intervestretail.be/upl/1/default/doc/IRBrochureSemestrielle2004.pdf

Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : And are you aware of the difference?
11 hrs
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

1 hr
Reference:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socit-anonyme.asp

What Is a Société Anonyme (S.A.)?

Société anonyme (S.A.) is a French term for a public limited company (PLC) and has many equivalents all over the world. An S.A. is the equivalent of a corporation in the United States, a public limited company in the United Kingdom, or an Aktiengesellschaft (AG) in Germany.

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Note added at 1 hora (2024-02-07 19:32:12 GMT)
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I would retain the original French though with an explanation in brackets.

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Note added at 1 hora (2024-02-07 19:32:38 GMT)
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https://www.proz.com/kudoz/french-to-english/business-commer...
Peer comments on this reference comment:
neutral writeaway : as Allegro Trans clearly explained in the discussion box an hour earlier
1 hr
Oh, I didn't read it!
neutral Daryo : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Société_anonyme etc. // Why use comments from EN sites instead of the original information in FR?
1 day 8 hrs
because it was reliable. I already knew this term in any case. Francois didn't use French refs. either:)
Something went wrong...
1 day 5 hrs
Reference:

about the anonymous thing

Clearly the words are related & from the same root. I used to wonder, from time to time. I thought it was perhaps because the owners, while perhaps not necessarily anonymous, might be tricky to pin down at a given point in time. Seems that idea wasn't quite right. I have at last been prompted to actually find out.
Reference:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Société_anonyme_en_droit_français

Peer comments on this reference comment:
disagree Daryo : Owners are "anonymous" in the sense that who they are doesn't matter at all - as far "la société anonyme" is concerned only the capital they put in it matters, not who they are. They are not "anonymous" at all = registers of shareholders are often public.
5 hrs
tbf to me, I did say they weren't anonymous, and if we're nitpicking, there isn't really a "sense" of anonymous that equates to "doesn't matter" either. Bet you €1 that if, somehow, Fr were just inventing ltd cos today, the word "anonyme" wouldn't feature
agree AllegroTrans : Trying to find something "anonymous" about this kind of entity is of little value for the purpose of translation, but at least your link explains its origins in France//we don't talk of "anonymity" really but "veil of incorporation" rings loud bells
16 hrs
Ta. I wonder about it every time I see it (which is frequently) and don't really know why I never bothered to find out.
Something went wrong...
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