French Word of the Day: Dérober
Why do I need to know
dérober?
Because
this verb might confuse you if you are trying to understand a news story.
What does it mean?
Dérober
- roughly pronounced day-row-bay - may look like it has to do with taking your clothes off, but in reality, it means 'to steal or take'. The more commonly used synonym is
voler
(to steal).
You'd be forgiven for confusion around the story of the Greenpeace
stealing the wax figure of French President
Emmanuel Macron as part of a protest. The French press kept referring to the figure as having been
dérobé
, but not to worry - this meant it was stolen, not undressed.
The verb
dérober
originated in the 12th century, and it comes from the Old French term
rober
, which is borrowed from the Low Latin
raubare
and the Germanic term
raubon
, meaning to steal, loot or pillage.
As you might have guessed, the English verb 'to rob' also comes from the Old French
rober
.
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Oddly enough, the noun
robe
(dress in French) also came from the same word root, referring to the 'spoils of war' and then a 'garment that has been stolen from someone'. Eventually, it went on to refer to tunics and women's dresses.
However while English has kept 'disrobe' as a fancy way of saying to get undressed, this is not used in French where
déshabiller
is the word for taking your clothes off.
Use it like this
Des militants ont dérobé la figurine de cire du président français Emmanuel Macron. -
Activists stole the wax figurine of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Le voleur m'a dérobé dans le métro. J'ai marché jusqu'au poste de police pour porter plainte.
- The thief robbed me on the Metro. I walked to the police station to lodge a complaint.
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