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fuzent
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Jul 8, 2017 20:30
6 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term

la tresse s'échappe de

French to English Art/Literary Cosmetics, Beauty hairstyle
Hi again!
DOC: 1907 Museum catalog of ancient Egyptian mirrors. Catalog entry.
CONTEXT: 44101. Boîte à miroir. - Bois et ivoire. - (pl. XXIII). L'abondante chevelure de la jeune égyptienne est cerclée par un bandeau d'où ***s'échappe la tresse*** distinctive des princes et des princesses, rejetée sur l'épaule. Sur la tête s'épanouit un bouquet de lotus. De la chevelure se détache un énorme pendant d'oreilles. COLOR PHOTO AT:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vsTHNyj6BK8/VaYHwjyjTuI/AAAAAAAAsj...
ATTEMPT: The voluminous hair of the young Egyptian girl is encircled by a headband from which the distinctive braid worn by princes and princesses has slipped free and falls over the shoulder.
ISSUE: I can't think what s'échapper means here, it's a hairstyle so I assume it's deliberate and not a braid escaping or breaking free.
Thank you in advance for any clarification!
Change log

Jul 8, 2017 22:37: Yolanda Broad changed "Term asked" from "la tresse s\\\'échappe de" to "la tresse s\'échappe de "

Discussion

angela3thomas (asker) Jul 10, 2017:
abundant...large earring it is Agreed and have taken Nikki Scott-Despaigne's advice and downsized the earring! and changed the earring description to "large earring pokes out from under her hair." Thank you again!
Tony M Jul 10, 2017:
@ Asker That's so much better already!

But please, not 'bountiful' — that isn't what it means! You are perhaps confusiong it with 'plentiful'? But in any case, I'd prefer soemthing like 'abdundant'.

Here's one abridged definition of 'bountiful' which shows why it doesn't really apply to hair:

Bountiful | Define Bountiful at Dictionary.com

www.dictionary.com/browse/bountiful

Bountiful definition:
liberal in bestowing gifts, favors, or bounties; munificent; generous.
angela3thomas (asker) Jul 10, 2017:
Thank you for the feedback I see now that perhaps I should just skip the French and describe just what I see. Without the discussion, I would have stayed stuck. The bountiful hair of the young Egyptian girl is encircled by a headband from which the distinctive braid worn by princes and princesses descends over her shoulder and down her back. A bouquet of blossoming lotus flowers crowns the top of her head. An enormous earring pokes out from her hair.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 10, 2017:
Yeah, I know. The point is that the plait is not coming undone.
Lara Barnett Jul 9, 2017:
nikki With plairs we normally say they become loose or fall out. That was my drift...
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 9, 2017:
@Lara Thank you. I see what you were getting at now. I don't thinnk that can work though. It a static description and there is no suggestion of the plait ever having been caught up in the headband. I do see where you were getting that from though.
Lara Barnett Jul 9, 2017:
@ Tony Probably not, but I did not post this as an answer, I was discussing the idea and giving suggestions of verbs.
Tony M Jul 9, 2017:
@ Lara This is a description of an antique painting; as such, you can't use an active verb like 'loosened', which might be appropriate if it was a scene from a film! And if you look at it, there is nothing whatsoever 'loose' about it.
Lara Barnett Jul 9, 2017:
@ Nikki Yes I am aware of that. Maybe what I meant was that "the plait loosened" and fell out onto her shoulders.
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 9, 2017:
@Lara Having your hair loose is the opposite of having it in a plait. The plait is not falling from under the headband. She has her hair in a plait with a headband around the crown of her head.
Tony M Jul 9, 2017:
@ Lara Any suggestion of 'fall' with 'land' tends to suggest it physically detaches.
Lara Barnett Jul 9, 2017:
Or From which her plait falls loose and lands on her shoulder ?
Tony M Jul 9, 2017:
@ Lara I think that would sound rather silly, as if in some way her plait was coming away from her hair!
Lara Barnett Jul 9, 2017:
What about "... slips out of her hair, landing on the girl's shoulder..." ?
or
"...slips free from the girl's hair and passes onto her shoulder..." ?
Nikki Scott-Despaigne Jul 8, 2017:
Flowery exagerations that work in French are sometimes OTT in EN and have to be tamed down to avoid sounding a bit silly, or translation-esy. You can start with reduced version and then add one or two fancier words back in. Bottom-up rather than top-down.
One suggestion among many possible solutions:

"The thick hair of the young Egyptian girl is styled into a plait, distinctive of princes and princesses, and adorned by a headband."
Tony M Jul 8, 2017:
@ Asker Don't really see why, seems to me just like a straightforward description of what we are seeing.
angela3thomas (asker) Jul 8, 2017:
I remember, twas I! and I reviewed it, but that was a different context (plants). I thought here there might be something more apropos to hairstyling.
Tony M Jul 8, 2017:
Funnily enough... ... we had a query about 'échapper' a little while back, and after much discussion, I think the general consensus was more along the lines of 'emerges' — the sense is often less specifically 'escape' than in EN, as for example in cases like 'she let out a sigh'.
If you can find that earlier KudoZ back, you might well find the discussion fruitful...
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