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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

la parure

English translation:

the sparkling array

Added to glossary by Yvonne Gallagher
Mar 30 11:55
1 mo ago
38 viewers *
French term

la parure

French to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
Hi everyone,

I know what this word can mean in different contexts, but I'm not entirely sure what makes the most sense here.

So the meaning I think applies here is: finery/trappings/adornment/regalia

But does finery makes sense in this sentence?

"Mais, plus encore que la parure des flammes, Nimbostratus adorait les teintes de jais et d’onyx qui rivalisaient avec la couleur du ciel nocturne."

So:
But even more than the finery of the flames?

Or maybe regalia would work better here?

Thank you for your help!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 the sparkling array
3 +2 adornment
3 +1 the fiery reflections
4 la beauté
4 hues
3 The vibrant tapestry (of flames)
Change log

Apr 14, 2024 23:39: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry

Discussion

Emmanuella Apr 1:
L' autrice
https://www.calameo.com/books/007311156f739f33bea3d
Daryo Mar 31:
Just a weird coincidence? Nimbostratus clouds - Met Office
Learn about nimbostratus clouds, dark, grey, featureless layers of cloud that produce continuous rain or snow. Find out how they form, what weather they are associated with and how they are categorised.

and the contradiction
"dark, grey, featureless layers of cloud that produce continuous rain or snow"
vs
"la parure des flammes ... les teintes de jais et d’onyx qui rivalisaient avec la couleur du ciel nocturne."

Strange choice of name for a city ...

BTW I would stay clear of this site https://www.calameo.com.

If you are forced to first download and run an .exe file (originating from an advertisement website) before downloading the .pdf of the book, it definitely does not smell of roses.
Barbara Carrara Mar 31:
Google Books term search If you access the book via Google Books and search for the term parure, at least twelve instances come up for it, not all accessible via Google Books, as only previews are available.
However, this exercise might help answerers participating in this KudoZ - as well as the asker - get the gist of the author's intended meaning(s) of the term.
Lisa Rosengard Mar 30:
Je crois que c'est un ensemble ou un conglomérat d'artefacts avec un sens de garner et orner.
Emmanuella Mar 30:
Je pense que 'parure' a le sens d'éclat
https://www.synonymo.fr/synonyme/parure
Lisa Rosengard Mar 30:
It looks like an artistic description of a set of colourful and sparkling jewels and torch lights with an appearance of dancing flames, perhaps comparable to an aesthetic attraction of a variety of shapes and sizes of stars which brighten up a sky at night.
Ana Vozone Mar 30:
The book is searchable https://www.calameo.com/read/007295780e7339e591f43.

Would "fiery attire" work?
https://www.google.com/search?q="fiery attire"&oq="fiery att...
philgoddard Mar 30:
Asker Please provide better context with your questions. We shouldn't have to go and look up the text ourselves to find out what's going on and what Nimbostratus is. I'm still not clear what the 'flames' are.
Mpoma Mar 30:
The concept of "adornment" ... is essential to this sentence. Nimbostratus, we learn a couple of pages earlier, is a city. Once again we see a personification, this time of a city rather than a dress. And again, it is essential to do justice to this personification. Parer contains within it this sense of pride in one's appearance, due to, usually, finery. Again, as with the passage with the dress ("demoiselle"), the author sustains and gives substance to this concept quite deliberately: by saying Nimbostratus "adored" the colours ...

Proposed translations

+2
33 mins
Selected

the sparkling array

these "flammes" are not the flames of a fire but rather the flames of torches shining brightly and casting fluctuating shadows crisscrossing each other like an eternal ballet dance.

Once again, I needed to look at more of the text to discover the full context

the sparkling array of flames (OR flaming torches)


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Note added at 33 mins (2024-03-30 12:29:01 GMT)
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after all "parure" can also mean a "set" of something

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Note added at 36 mins (2024-03-30 12:31:19 GMT)
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https://m.interglot.com/fr/en/parure

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Note added at 40 mins (2024-03-30 12:35:39 GMT)
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cluster, assemblage or constellation of flames could also work
Peer comment(s):
disagree Mpoma : The idea of "parer" (adorning) is absolutely essential to "parure". You can't just omit the most essential semantic component. // er... use your imagination praps?
38 mins
Not again:-( You really want to be disagreeable it seems. How are torches "adornments"?//and insulting?
agree Anastasia Kalantzi : ''vast array of sparkling items'' https://sothebysrealty.gr/blog/mykonos-where-the-streets-rea...
1 hr
Many thanks:-)//no need for "items" as we know these are flames (of torches)
agree Philippa Smith : Lovely!
1 hr
Many thanks:-)
agree Emmanuella
6 hrs
Many thanks:-)
neutral Nicole Acher : Lovely imagery, but there is some poetic license taken whereas "adornment" is closer to the original, I think
9 hrs
I honestly don't see how "flaming torches" can be "adornments"
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
3 mins

adornment

This might work in your context
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : That applies more to the decorations worn or carried by people or buildings in my opinion.
1 hr
agree Mpoma : These *are* buildings. From the text we can also see that Nimbostratus is in fact the name of the town/city through which Ivoire is walking.
1 hr
agree Nicole Acher
9 hrs
neutral Anastasia Kalantzi : This might be too literal version for such a phantasmagorical story like this.. Phantasy and magic should primarily prevail everywhere.
21 hrs
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

the fiery reflections

"But even more than the fiery reflections of the flames, Nimbostratus adored the jet and onyx hues that rivalled the colour of the night sky."
Peer comment(s):
disagree Mpoma : Same remark as for Yvonne's idea. The idea of "adornment" can't be omitted.
6 mins
Thank you!
agree Philippa Smith : Another lovely solution (regardless of certain hidebound ideas)!
49 mins
Thanks Philippa.
agree Anastasia Kalantzi : Pretty much the same opinion with Philippa. Have a good Sunday! :-)
19 hrs
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
2 hrs
French term (edited): la parure

la beauté

While interpreting the precise meaning of the sentence without the complete context of the text can pose challenges, I perceive that the inclusion of the word 'beauty' enhances its overall expression.

Naturally, the translated term pertains to adornment or ornamentation; however, these terms are rooted in the concept of beauty. Substituting the word "beauty" simplifies the sentence, rendering it more comprehensible.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Anastasia Kalantzi : I understand your meaning, but unfortunately on the one hand it is a terribly generalized view and on the other hand the oversimplification most of the time moves away from the true and deep meaning of some expression, idea or feeling in this case.
20 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

hues

For me, parures here is just a poetic term for 'colour'.

The text (see below) is full of reference to redness (cheeks, poppies, lava (indirectly, via volcans)), and then we have it: les couleurs du Génie du feu.

'even more than the hues of flames, Nimbostratus loved the shades of jade and onyx that rivaled with the colour of the night sky'



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Note added at 4 hrs (2024-03-30 16:44:17 GMT)
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13 days

The vibrant tapestry (of flames)

Hello

I think that "parure" cannot be described with a single adjective or noun in English as it encompasses all the characteristics of flames.

So we need something that suggests this. Tapestry comes to mind as it comprises many different aspects much like the tapestry of life.

Okay, I'm far off the original on a word for word basis, but perhaps far closer when it comes to depicting what is really meant.

Something went wrong...
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