I know chateau means "castle", or "fortress" and read that d'if is a "yew tree". But, that can't be the exact translation; I was told something completely different, that had nothing to do with a yew tree.
2007-01-27 03:42:11 · 10 answers · asked by Revengeance 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I also know that the yew tree is some kind of a symbol of death, could that mean anything?
2007-01-27 03:51:18 · update #1
I don't want something from Wikipedia; I've already checked there, and it tells me nothing I already know. I'm basically looking for something that resembles an accurate English translation.
2007-01-27 03:54:56 · update #2
The castle was built on an island in front of Marseilles, France, which was called "If". It then became a prison, but is now a tourist attraction.
"If" is indeed "yew tree", but I don't know why the island was called "if". Probably because there were many such trees on it.
2007-01-27 03:49:14 · answer #1 · answered by Offkey 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Define Chateau
2016-11-07 06:16:18 · answer #2 · answered by ledebuhr 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the meanings of the yew tree in ancient Celtic belief is silence. Chateau d'If was where they sent prisoners they didn't want anyone to know about, the ones they wanted to keep silent. Hence, Chateau d'If, "The House of Silence".
2017-01-01 20:48:42 · answer #3 · answered by Adam C 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think there's any connection with a yew tree eventhough un if (as a common noun) is indeed a yew tree.
In French, it sometimes happen that two words having totally different origins, etymology and meaning end up being homonyms.
But...there's still an outside chance that the place was so called because there were yew trees there. I don't think it likely, though.
2007-01-27 04:32:10 · answer #4 · answered by JJ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, "I'd sooner" means essentially the same thing as "I would rather," but it's a slightly less formal way of saying it, and it also tends to be used in colorful, exaggerated statements--more emphatic. Bethany's and Katya's statements provide the best examples, then Birdy's. To say that you would "sooner" do something agonizing or dangerous than do another thing drives home the idea of how distasteful that other thing is. If you need to make it negative, you'd say, "I'd sooner not," but in that situation "I'd rather not" would be at least as good.
2016-03-17 04:16:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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RE:
What does "Chateau d'if" mean in English?
I know chateau means "castle", or "fortress" and read that d'if is a "yew tree". But, that can't be the exact translation; I was told something completely different, that had nothing to do with a yew tree.
2015-08-06 17:36:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Château d'If is a stable (later a prison) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul Archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille in southeastern France. It is famous as the setting of Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
The château is a square, three-story building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun embrasures. The remainder of the island, which only measures 30,000 square meters, is heavily fortified; high ramparts with gun platforms surmount the island's cliffs.
2007-01-27 03:52:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
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Yep. In this context, "I'd" is a contraction of "I" and "would." "I'd sooner" does not take "to." "I'd sooner" means "I would more likely... [do/say/etc. this than that]." You, too! :)
2016-04-08 22:11:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excuse me for trying to help. I have erased my answer.
2007-01-27 03:50:25 · answer #9 · answered by Riss 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chateau means cat water......stupid french
2007-01-27 03:49:07 · answer #10 · answered by Mullet Head 2 · 1⤊ 6⤋