French Word of the day: Sésame
Yes, this French expression is a magical spell (or a foodstuff).
Why do I need to know sésame?
Because, as well as being a foodstuff, it's an old expression with mysterious origins that will add a bit of magic to your everyday French.
What does it mean?
Sésame - roughly pronounced say-zam - means sesame as in sesame seeds or sesame oil, but it also has an important secondary meaning.
Widely known for as the magical formula "Open Sesame" from the folk tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - translated by Frenchman Antoine Galland in 1701 - sésame is today a part of French everyday language.
(If you though this phrase belonged to Disney Prince Aladdin, you're not alone. Disney actually borrowed a scene from the story of Ali Baba in its - much later - animated film.)
While sésame is today generally heard about less exciting things than Ali Baba opening a cave to reveal a hidden treasure, it still means "a magical formula," according to French dictionary Larousse's definition, or at least a pass or permission.
Wasn't there a part, where he had to say certain words, to get through a wall? Isn't that from #Aladdin? OH! "Sesam öffne dich", is what I was looking for! ("Open Sesame!") This isn't Aladdin: It's from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (One Thousand and One Nights). Well... [2/3] pic.twitter.com/v0IntVt5at
— Hagen Laskowski (@HagensWelt) October 12, 2018
Sésame is a "surefire way to get to something, to have all doors opened," Larousse states - and what is this 'magical formula' in practice? Paperwork and documentation, of course.
You may have heard French politicians talk about the health pass during the Covid-19 pandemic as the sésame which allowed an individual to enter a concert, football match or other large events. In other contexts, Sésame can simply be anything that provides access to something that otherwise would be out of reach - such as a passport that allows you to cross borders or a backstage pass that gives you special access.
While an 'open sesame' exists as a phrase in English, it's not used with anything like the regularity of the French sésame.
Use it like this
Il faut être en possession d'un passeport pour se rendre dans les îles anglo-normandes. C'est le sésame indispensable. - You must have a passport to go to the Channel Islands. It is the essential magical pass.
Si tu veux couvrir des manifestations, c'est bien d'avoir une carte de presse. Parfois c'est le sésame à montrer à la police en cas de débordements. - If you want to cover protests, it's good to have a press card. Sometimes this is the gold card to show the police in the event of clashes.
Don't confuse it with..
Sesame seeds, graines de sésame in French.
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Why do I need to know sésame?
Because, as well as being a foodstuff, it's an old expression with mysterious origins that will add a bit of magic to your everyday French.
What does it mean?
Sésame - roughly pronounced say-zam - means sesame as in sesame seeds or sesame oil, but it also has an important secondary meaning.
Widely known for as the magical formula "Open Sesame" from the folk tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - translated by Frenchman Antoine Galland in 1701 - sésame is today a part of French everyday language.
(If you though this phrase belonged to Disney Prince Aladdin, you're not alone. Disney actually borrowed a scene from the story of Ali Baba in its - much later - animated film.)
While sésame is today generally heard about less exciting things than Ali Baba opening a cave to reveal a hidden treasure, it still means "a magical formula," according to French dictionary Larousse's definition, or at least a pass or permission.
Wasn't there a part, where he had to say certain words, to get through a wall? Isn't that from #Aladdin? OH! "Sesam öffne dich", is what I was looking for! ("Open Sesame!") This isn't Aladdin: It's from "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" (One Thousand and One Nights). Well... [2/3] pic.twitter.com/v0IntVt5at
— Hagen Laskowski (@HagensWelt) October 12, 2018
Sésame is a "surefire way to get to something, to have all doors opened," Larousse states - and what is this 'magical formula' in practice? Paperwork and documentation, of course.
You may have heard French politicians talk about the health pass during the Covid-19 pandemic as the sésame which allowed an individual to enter a concert, football match or other large events. In other contexts, Sésame can simply be anything that provides access to something that otherwise would be out of reach - such as a passport that allows you to cross borders or a backstage pass that gives you special access.
While an 'open sesame' exists as a phrase in English, it's not used with anything like the regularity of the French sésame.
Use it like this
Il faut être en possession d'un passeport pour se rendre dans les îles anglo-normandes. C'est le sésame indispensable. - You must have a passport to go to the Channel Islands. It is the essential magical pass.
Si tu veux couvrir des manifestations, c'est bien d'avoir une carte de presse. Parfois c'est le sésame à montrer à la police en cas de débordements. - If you want to cover protests, it's good to have a press card. Sometimes this is the gold card to show the police in the event of clashes.
Don't confuse it with..
Sesame seeds, graines de sésame in French.
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