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#1 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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My time in the army had its operational period, although nothing at all related with pencils but, instead, needles, syringes and morphine ampoules; go figure why they sent me to paramedics.
This is one of the cases where names of things between different cultures are of an idiomatic basis and not of strict translation. We call a linear pencil a lápis; from the Latin lapis (nominative), «pedra» (rock/stone) by the Italian lapis. What would be for us a mechanical pencil would be a lapiseira, an object of tubular or prismatic shape, made of metal or plastic, where a piece of lápis is adapted ... For the contents inside the common pencil we use the term craião, the same used to call a drawing or a art work made with the same naked graphite. I think (think) this is a galicism, from the french crayon. For the load (shaft) of lapiseiras we use the term mina, from the celtic mina «mineral», by the French mine. I remember in my youth lapiseiras were a selective accessory, only used by professionals and design students. A famous mark for quality was Swiss "Caran d'Ache". Attached a picture of an old small case of tubes with colour minas, from my miscellania collection. . |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 2,235
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VULPOTLOOD..... in dutch
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#3 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,238
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![]() Quote:
![]() isn't google translate and wiki wonderful ![]() Druckbleistift or Fallminenstift in german. and so forth...only about 6500 languages to go... |
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