[Vocabulary] a simple question about the word "boreal"

[peabird_3]

Hi everybody,

I'm French and i would like to know how much the word "boreal" is used in USA ?

Everybody knows it ? Few of american knows it ? What do you think of when you ear it ? Does it sounds fine in english or does it sound bad ?

Please tell me,

Thanks

 

[SoothingDave]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I just looked up the word "boreal." I have never used it and do not think the common person would have any idea what it means.

I suppose that "aurora borealis" is related, but never considered "boreal" an English word.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forum, peabird.

It's a very rarely-used word in any variety of English.

Where did you encounter it? Is the French equivalent commonly used and understood by most of your compatriots?

(Don't forget to capitalise 'I' and proper nouns like 'American' and 'English'.)

 

[MikeNewYork]

The word comes from Boreas, the god of the north wind.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi everybody,

I'm French and I would like to know how much the word "boreal" is used in ​the USA?

[STRIKE]Everybody knows[/STRIKE] Does everybody know it? [STRIKE]Few of[/STRIKE] Do only a few Americans [STRIKE]knows[/STRIKE] know it? What do you think of when you hear it? Does it [STRIKE]sounds[/STRIKE] sound [STRIKE]fine[/STRIKE] good/correct/OK in English or does it sound bad?

Please tell me.

Thanks.

The others have answered your question. However, I will add that in BrE I have never heard or used the word.

Please look at my corrections to your post. There are important rules in written English:

- Start every sentence with a capital letter.
- End every sentence with a single, appropriate punctuation mark.
- Always capitalise the word "I".
- Capitalise proper nouns (English, French, France, Microsoft, Shakespeare).
- Do not put a space before a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. (This was a frequent error in your post.)
- Always put a space after a comma, full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.

Also remember that you cannot make a question in English simply by writing a sentence and then adding a question mark at the end. I know that it is possible in French but it doesn't work in English. Study the interrogative.

 

[lotus888]

That's an interesting question. As mentioned, it is not often used. I would think that it would be more common in biological or earth sciences.

A related word "arboreal", relating to trees, is more common -- and again is more commonly used in earth and environmental science.


--lotus

 

[Rover_KE]

I'd really like peabird to answer the question I asked earlier:

Is the French equivalent [of 'boreal'] commonly used and understood by most [French speakers]?

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Arboreal" is really not related to "boreal" (except for a similar letter order). "Arboreal" comes from the Latin "arboreus, from "arbor" for "tree".

 

[Roman55]

I'd really like peabird to answer the question I asked earlier:

Is the French equivalent [of 'boreal'] commonly used and understood by most [French speakers]?

I am not a teacher.

Since peabird won't answer that question, let me try.

In my experience boréal is restricted to scientific uses and is certainly not commonly used in France as an adjective referring to the north. For that they would use 'septentrional'.

I think boréal is used more in Quebec, but probably not as an everyday word. They hold a French language science fiction congress called Le Congrés Boréal.