cloporte
French
editEtymology
editLikely 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
editNoun
editcloporte m (plural cloportes)
- woodlouse
- (slang) porter, concierge
- (derogatory) worthless person, vermin
Further reading
edit- “cloporte”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.