striking, conspicuous

[ThomasK]

I'd like to know what word (and especially what metaphor) you use for "striking" or "conspicuous"...

Dutch has
- opvallend (falling up), which could be explained, I suppose, as
- in het oog springend (jumping/ leaping in the eye, lit.)
- frappant, borrowed from French of course, and lit. meaning "striking" hitting us, our eye, ... ?

Striking seems like an underlying metaphor, and touching/hitting the eye, but maybe the two refer to the same base: striking/ touching the eye (metonymy for us?).

I'll deal with light adjectives such as "schitterend" (brilliant, but lit. maybe something like "glittery") in a separate thread. Both "touch" (or hit?) the eye though... So I think there is a relation...Or I'll take it to the Language Lab...

 

[Dymn]

Catalan has a particularity (among Romance languages) which is Noun+Verb compounds, so for example "to catch someone's eye" is ullprendre ("to eye-take"), and the corresponding adjective, ullprenedor. All in all it's not a very popular adjective (corprenedor "heartrending" on the other hand is more common), but it exists.

Other verbs in this sense are sobtar (related to Latin subitus, de sobte = "suddenly"), estranyar ("to find something odd", has some disbelief nuance), cridar l'atenció "to draw someone's attention to"... And xocar and xocant, equivalent to English "to shock" and "shocking" both literally and figurately, but it looks quite more "aggressive" to me than the rest.

 

[Yendred]

French "frappant" is indeed rather common to translate striking.

We also have an idiom for it: ça saute aux yeux (lit. it jumps to the eyes) = it's quite obvious

 

[Dymn]

It's worth noting that in Catalan I've always heard frapar and frapant, but these don't appear in the dictionary (and they don't exist in Spanish) so I wonder if it's a recent Gallicism...

 

[Circunflejo]

In Spanish, saltar a la vista; literally, to jump (in)to the sight/view.

It's worth noting that in Catalan I've always heard frapar and frapant, but these don't appear in the dictionary (and they don't exist in Spanish) so I wonder if it's a recent Gallicism...

If you look for frapar in the Optimot, you'll find it says that it's a Gallicism.

 

[ThomasK]

Interesting note, but let's not turn this into a side thread... (Thanks)

I thought of another one: standing out in English. Be highlighted another one?

cridar l'atenció reminds me of catching the eye, literally...

 

[merquiades]

Eye-catching

 

[apmoy70]

Greek:

Striking: «Χτυπητός, -τή, -τό» [xti.piˈtɔs] (masc.), [xti.piˈti] (fem.), [xti.piˈtɔ] (neut.) < v. «κτυπώ» [ktiˈpɔ] & «χτυπώ» [xtiˈpɔ] with dissimilation --> to hit, strike, beat + ΜοGr adjectival suffix «-τός» [-tɔs] (PIE *-tós, creates deverbal adjectives of possibility) < Classical denominative v. «κτυπέω/κτυπῶ» ktŭpéō (uncontracted)/ktŭpô (contracted) --> to crack, rumble < Classical masc. «κτύπος» ktúpŏs --> strong noise, cracking, stamping (probably onomatopoeia from the sound of cracking).

Conspicuous: MoGr adj. «εμφανής, -νής, -νές» [em.faˈnis] (masc. & fem.), [em.faˈnes] (neut.) < Classical adj. «ἐμφανής, -νής, νές» ĕmpʰanḗs (masc. & fem.), ĕmpʰanés (neut.) < «ἐν» ĕn («ἐμ-» ĕm- with assimilation) + v. «φαίνω» pʰaí̯nō --> to show, make visible, bring to light, make known (PIE *bʰeh₂- to shine cf Skt. भाति (bhāti), to shine, Av. bānu- splendour, ToA pañi/ToB peñiyo, splendour).

Metaphors:
(1) MoGr constructed adj. «εντυπωσιακός, -κή, -κό» [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈkɔs] (masc.), [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈci] (fem.), [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈkɔ] (neut.) --> lit. person or object that makes an impression on someone < Classical 3rd declension fem. noun «ἐντύπωσις» ĕntúpōsis (nom. sing.), «ἐντυπώσεως» ĕntŭpṓsĕōs (gen. sing.) --> impression, dint, pit < «ἐν» ĕn + v. «τύπτω» túptō --> to poke, stab, beat with a weapon or a stick (PIE *(s)teu̯p- to push, beat cf Lat. stupēre, Alb. shtyp, to crush).

(2) «Φανταχτερός, -ρή, -ρό» [fan.dax.teˈɾɔs] (masc.), [fan.dax.teˈɾi] (fem.), [fan.dax.teˈɾɔ] (neut.) < v. «φαντάζω» [fanˈda.zɔ] --> to become visible, appear < Classical v. «φαντάζω» pʰăntázō --> to make visible, present to the eye or mind (PIE *bʰeh₂- to shine see «ἐμφανής») + MoGr adjectival suffix «-ερός» [-eˈɾɔs].
«Φανταχτερός» is the flamboyant, showy.

 

[Dymn]

I thought of another one: standing out in English. Be highlighted another one?

I think that's another semantic field though, having to do with an unusually good quality, that makes something stand out of the crowd (sobresaliente in Spanish, for example). Maybe closer to the other thread you have opened.

I wonder if impression and its derivatives are close to striking, though, related to "press", maybe it adds a nuance of being able of leaving some lifelong memory or change in direction on something or someone. Something like dejar huella ("to leave a mark", lit. "a footprint"). Also impactante is another word for "shocking", "striking". All metaphors here share some physical contact, especially if blunt and sudden.

Cridar in Catalan can mean both "to shout" and "to call" (as in "to summon"). I wonder if shouting/screaming also has some semantic overlap, but I don't think so, for example color chillón ("screaming (= flashy) colour"), or metaphorically in English: "this dress screams "I'm a tourist"". But it looks closer to the first paragraph, although especially if in an unpleasant, grinding/shrieking way.

 

[ThomasK]

I have started to think that a lot has to do with evaluation. Lots of the above words show/ betray high appreciation; we use them to express appreciation. I'll try to develop that in a separate thread.

Interesting note on the concept of physical contact in those words. I had been thinking in the same direction, and that is why I opened the new thread, trying to categorize words for expressing very high appreciation. I suppose we stick to words expressing "striking" here, and explore the links between the words in the above thread. I'll be copying your above ideas there...

 

[ThomasK]

Cridar in Catalan can mean both "to shout" and "to call" (as in "to summon"). I wonder if shouting/screaming also has some semantic overlap, but I don't think so, for example color chillón ("screaming (= flashy) colour"), or metaphorically in English: "this dress screams "I'm a tourist"". But it looks closer to the first paragraph, although especially if in an unpleasant, grinding/shrieking way.

This is the phenomenon of synesthetic perception: combining visual and auditive, in this case... I think they are linked, even with the physical contact: crying, shrieking, scream can hurt people... But there is no link with good quality here, is there?

 

[Dymn]

In Portuguese along with chamar a atenção (cf. llamar la atención, cridar l'atenció) there's also dar nas vistas (lit. "to give in the sights").

But there is no link with good quality here, is there?

Indeed, the connotation is negative or neutral, to the least.

 

[ThomasK]

Thanks. So that is a difference between that expressions and others referring to the body, I think, like "eye-catching"...

 

[ThomasK]

Greek:

Striking: «Χτυπητός, -τή, -τό» [xti.piˈtɔs] (masc.), [xti.piˈti] (fem.), [xti.piˈtɔ] (neut.) < v. «κτυπώ» [ktiˈpɔ] & «χτυπώ» [xtiˈpɔ] with dissimilation --> to hit, strike, beat + ΜοGr adjectival suffix «-τός» [-tɔs] (PIE *-tós, creates deverbal adjectives of possibility) < Classical denominative v. «κτυπέω/κτυπῶ» ktŭpéō (uncontracted)/ktŭpô (contracted) --> to crack, rumble < Classical masc. «κτύπος» ktúpŏs --> strong noise, cracking, stamping (probably onomatopoeia from the sound of cracking).

Conspicuous: MoGr adj. «, -νής, -νές» [em.faˈnis] (masc. & fem.), [em.faˈnes] (neut.) < Classical adj. «ἐμφανής, -νής, νές» ĕmpʰanḗs (masc. & fem.), ĕmpʰanés (neut.) < «ἐν» ĕn («ἐμ-» ĕm- with assimilation) + v. «φαίνω» pʰaí̯nō --> to show, make visible, bring to light, make known (PIE *bʰeh₂- to shine cf Skt. भाति (bhāti), to shine, Av. bānu- splendour, ToA pañi/ToB peñiyo, splendour).

Metaphors:
(1) MoGr constructed adj. «εντυπωσιακός, -κή, -κό» [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈkɔs] (masc.), [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈci] (fem.), [en.di.pɔ.si.aˈkɔ] (neut.) --> lit. person or object that makes an impression on someone < Classical 3rd declension fem. noun «ἐντύπωσις» ĕntúpōsis (nom. sing.), «ἐντυπώσεως» ĕntŭpṓsĕōs (gen. sing.) --> impression, dint, pit < «ἐν» ĕn + v. «τύπτω» túptō --> to poke, stab, beat with a weapon or a stick (PIE *(s)teu̯p- to push, beat cf Lat. stupēre, Alb. shtyp, to crush).

(2) «Φανταχτερός, -ρή, -ρό» [fan.dax.teˈɾɔs] (masc.), [fan.dax.teˈɾi] (fem.), [fan.dax.teˈɾɔ] (neut.) < v. «φαντάζω» [fanˈda.zɔ] --> to become visible, appear < Classical v. «φαντάζω» pʰăntázō --> to make visible, present to the eye or mind (PIE *bʰeh₂- to shine see «ἐμφανής») + MoGr adjectival suffix «-ερός» [-eˈɾɔs].
«Φανταχτερός» is the flamboyant, showy.

I am wondering - with some delay - whether we could use something like "banging" in the sense of "striking". It seems quite logical, but as far as I can see now, I do not see adjectives containing an acoustic reference...
The reference to light is more common. I suppose there is a link with epiphany, etc., but epiphanies are not εμφανής, in general. We do not associate phantasy with light, but I now understand the link is there... So it seems related with "eye-catching", or is it not? Thanks in advance...

Too bad there are no Chinese or Japanese speakers around, or Arabic for that matter, languages with entirely different roots (if that is the right way to put it)...

Could you illustrate the words by adding a noun to it? I suppose moreover that they are not really interchangeable. "In the oog springend" would be for example more literal in Dutch, whereas "opvallend" (striking, conspicuous) is used widely...