Discussion: [VG] -ing words used in French

[Tresley]

List thread / fil de liste : click

Hello,

I keep coming across lots of words ending in -ing used in French. Most of them are borrowed from English and have the same meaning. However, some are used differently (e.g. le brushing, le dressing,le pressing etc) and some are invented by francophones themselves! (e.g. Le dancing, le fooding etc). We can translate the last two examples into English with French expressions! (Le dancing = Palais de danse, Le fooding = belle cuisine). Here is the list I have compiled so far. Can anyone add anything to this list? Please check my translations.

L’aquaplaning (m) = aquaplaning
Le booking = booking, reservation
Le bowling = bowling alley
Le brushing = blow-dry
Le building = large modern building (e.g. a block of flats or offices)
Le camping = camp site
Le camping-car = camper van
Le caravanning = caravanning
Le dancing = palais de danse, dance hall
Le dressing = built-in wardrobe, walk-in wardrobe
Le dumping = dumping
Le fooding = belle cuisine, the art of eating and cooking well
Le footing = jogging
Le forcing = pressure
Le jogging = jogging / tracksuit
Le jumping = horse jumping
Le karting = go-carting
Le leasing = leasing
Le lifting = face-lift
Le living = living room, sitting room, lounge
Le lobbying = lobbying
Le mailing = publicity mail shot
Le marketing = marketing
Le mobbing = moral harassment, persecution
Le parking = car park
Le planning = plan, planning, schedule, programme | production specifications (business)
Le pressing = dry-cleaners, dry-cleaning
Le rafting = rafting
Le shampooing = shampoo
Le shooting = photo shoot
Le sleeping = sleeping-carriage (on a train)
Le smoking = dinner jacket, tuxedo
Le sponsoring = sponsoring, sponsorship
Le standing = deluxe, high quality
Le string = G-string
Le surbooking = over-booking, over-reservation
Le time sharing = time sharing, time share (holiday accommodation)
Le timing = timing
Le training = track suit
Le travelling = travelling platform (i.e. dolly for camera shots in film making)
Le trekking = trekking
Le Viking = Viking
Le yachting = yachting
Le yearling = yearling horse

 

[DearPrudence]

Congratulations everyone.
And just to add that "un jogging" also means "a tracksuit"
un ring : a boxing ring

 

[Lilla My]

But why Viking ?
It's the name of a people and has nothing to do with english...

 

[Grop]

Oui viking ne vient pas spécialement de l'anglais. Il y a d'autres mots en -ing qui ne semblent pas venir de l'anglais: poing et coing par exemple.

Notons que shampooing se prononce comme poing ou point et ne rime donc pas avec bowling. Du moins pas chez moi.

 

[pyan]

Hi
Some more, but less translations...

Le zapping translation:
Is this the actual machine, the remote control, called the zapper?
Or is it the acting of changing channel, called zapping?
Thanks

 

[DearPrudence]

Le zapping translation:
is it the acting of changing channel, called zapping? It's called "channel surfing", isn't it?

Is this the actual machine, the remote control, called the zapper?
It's called "la télécommande", or colloquially "la zappette"

 

[Behane]

le relooking - a makeover

 

[Forodio]

faire du baby-sitting means to baby-sit
Unless you are only looking for nouns

 

[jhwhelohim]

Quelle est la difference entre le breakdance et le breakdancing?

 

[jhwhelohim]

Has anyone heard of "le walking closet" for a walk-in closet? I landed on that word a couple times today as I was looking at how "le dressing" is used. What's interesting is to note that phonetically there is very little difference, but since ing endings have become so popular, the ing ending is more appealing than the in ending.

 

[jhwhelohim]

le mushing en est un autre.

Mise à jour OK

 

[Wynn Mathieson]

Simple erreur de frappe sans doute dans beaucoup de cas, mais l'attraction de la terminaison « -ing » est tellement forte que l'on voit assez souvent, même dans les textes français les plus « élevés », Foreing Office au lieu de Foreign Office :

Le Secrétaire au Foreing Office a également donné son sentiment... (l'Humanité 15.12.1990)

Cette convention [...] a reçu l'aval tant du Foreing office que du ministère chinois des affaires étrangères (Procès-verbal de la séance du 27.05.1998 du Sénat français)

...rassemblant 200 hommes d'affaires, des fonctionnaires du DTI, du Foreing Office et... (Avis présenté au nom de la Commission des Affaires étrangères de l'Assemblée nationale 08.10.1998)

Le Foreing Office sous M. Blair a rarement fait preuve d’indépendance (www.geopolitique.com 21.06.2007)

Wynn