capharnaüm

See also: capharnaum and Capharnaum

French

Etymology

From Latin Capharnāum, the Biblical town Capernaum in Galilee. The sense derives from the Biblical story of the healing of a paralytic (Luke 5:17–26; Mark 2:1–12), in which a crowd of people assembles when Jesus visits Capernaum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.faʁ.na.ɔm/

• Audio

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Noun

capharnaüm m (uncountable)

1. (figuratively, colloquial) shambles

   Synonym: bordel

   • 2019, Alain Damasio, chapter 2, in Les furtifs [The Stealthies], La Volte, →ISBN:

     La cave ? Un vrai capharnaüm : un banc d’i-fit posé sur un vieux frigo tactile, deux vélices sans batterie, des coques de réul, du linge, un matelas à mémoire de forme, des meubles intelligents…

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “capharnaüm”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.