French Word of the Day: Souche
It's often been used in a scientific context during the pandemic, but this word has several other uses.
Why do I need to know souche?
Because when scientists discover a new one, we could all be in trouble.
What does it mean?
A souche, pronounced "soosh", is the French word commonly used to describe a biological strain.
It can be used interchangeably with variante, pronounced "vah-ree-ont".
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is common to hear scientists referring to a souche du virus or a souche virale to mean "strain of the virus" or "viral strain".
Les scientifiques ont découvert une nouvelle souche du virus - Scientists have discovered a new strain of the virus.
Il faut du temps pour identifier une nouvelle souche virale - It takes time to discover a new viral strain
Le variant Omicron est une nouvelle souche du SARS-CoV-2 capable de contourner l'immunité - The Omicron variant is a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 capable to evading immunity
Other uses
Souche can also be applied in a number of other contexts.
It can be used to talk about where you are from like so:
Je suis britannique de souche - I am British by origin
Emily est une américaine de souche - Emily is from America originally
It also has other scientific and botanical uses.
Une cellule souche - a stem cell
Une souche d'arbre - a tree stump
To this end, the expression, dormir comme une souche means "to sleep like a log"
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Why do I need to know souche?
Because when scientists discover a new one, we could all be in trouble.
What does it mean?
A souche, pronounced "soosh", is the French word commonly used to describe a biological strain.
It can be used interchangeably with variante, pronounced "vah-ree-ont".
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is common to hear scientists referring to a souche du virus or a souche virale to mean "strain of the virus" or "viral strain".
Les scientifiques ont découvert une nouvelle souche du virus - Scientists have discovered a new strain of the virus.
Il faut du temps pour identifier une nouvelle souche virale - It takes time to discover a new viral strain
Le variant Omicron est une nouvelle souche du SARS-CoV-2 capable de contourner l'immunité - The Omicron variant is a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 capable to evading immunity
Other uses
Souche can also be applied in a number of other contexts.
It can be used to talk about where you are from like so:
Je suis britannique de souche - I am British by origin
Emily est une américaine de souche - Emily is from America originally
It also has other scientific and botanical uses.
Une cellule souche - a stem cell
Une souche d'arbre - a tree stump
To this end, the expression, dormir comme une souche means "to sleep like a log"
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