cloporte

French

Etymology

Likely from clore (“to close”) +‎ porte (“door”), from its habit of rolling into a ball. Another possible derivation is from an unattested *croteporque, mirrored in Occitan porquet de crota (“woodlouse”, literally “cave-pig”). In any case, the analysis in the first proposal is probably responsible for the figurative extension of the word to "porter, concierge".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /klɔ.pɔʁt/

• Audio

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Noun

cloporte m (plural cloportes)

1. woodlouse
2. (slang) porter, concierge
3. (derogatory) worthless person, vermin

Further reading

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