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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

bulle

English translation:

bulb

Added to glossary by claude-andrew
Dec 5, 2012 17:58
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

bulle

French to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters musicians slang
Un flotteur fait d’une bulle de verre soufflé

I have doubts about using "buibble"
Proposed translations (English)
3 bulb
3 +2 bubble
4 +1 ball
4 +1 Blown glass float
3 balloon
3 sphere
3 globe
Change log

Dec 10, 2012 10:24: claude-andrew Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): AllegroTrans

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Discussion

Paul Hirsh (asker) Dec 7, 2012:
Did I hear plastic? Rock Crystal !! Gloves must be worn to turn the jade dial (with gold hourmarkers) to set the time, and the demineralised water must be changed (after carefully removing the float) once a week to avoid a severe case of "gene esthetique"
claude-andrew Dec 7, 2012:
@Mercedes Thanks Mercedes for your back-up! I've posted it.
Mercedes Claire Gilliom Dec 6, 2012:
Claude-Andrew: post it! now that I know the context, "sphere" sounds like a good choice. I recommend you post that as a translation!
claude-andrew Dec 6, 2012:
Posh register? Maybe Cartier deserves something like "sphere" as in "blown glass sphere"?
Is this one of those apparently fashionable clocks that float on water inside a plastic container? (http://french.alibaba.com/products/water-clock-with-floater.... Else what's a flotteur doing in a watch or clock?
Paul Hirsh (asker) Dec 6, 2012:
Hi Chris, they don't tell me these things and the only photo I could find on line had no dimensions.
chris collister Dec 6, 2012:
Knowing that it's for a Cartier clock does, like, make a difference, man...
How big is this clock? Ladies' wristwatch or Big Ben? That makes a difference too.
Paul Hirsh (asker) Dec 5, 2012:
Oh jeez, did it repeat the musician's slang in the category? That was the last quesiton. This is for a Cartier magnetic clock !!
AllegroTrans Dec 5, 2012:
If this is about glass blowing... .. what has it got to do with musicians' slang? Asker, don't keep us in suspense.
B D Finch Dec 5, 2012:
Musicians or fishermen? Sounds like one of those floats fishermen used to attach to the edges of their nets.
AllegroTrans Dec 5, 2012:
I don't understand the context Musician's slang for what? Who is saying it? what comes before/after?
Paul Hirsh (asker) Dec 5, 2012:
Too late to edit the question, but you will have doubtless correctly assumed buibble to be a typo for bubble.

Proposed translations

2 hrs
Selected

bulb

So: a float consisting of a blown glass bulb.
"Ball" is more common, but "Bulb" may be approriate depending on context.
Reference:

http://www.zazzle.com/floating_glass_bulbs_canvas-192700095530160568

Peer comment(s):
neutral emiledgar : mistake
8 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I liked both your answers."
+2
2 mins

bubble

*
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc
14 mins
Un gros merci, cc ...
agree Louisa Tchaicha
6 hrs
Merci Louisa ... et bienvenue chez ProZ.com ...
Something went wrong...
+1
22 mins

ball

I am guessing what the context is, but it looks like the most common way to describe these things is simply to say "blown glass float." But to respect the structure of the source sentence, for bulle, "ball" turns up more Google hits than "bubble."
Reference:

http://oregonglassfloats.com/

Note from asker:
Absolutely, but this bulle is only part of the float, which is called flotteur elsewhere in the text.
Peer comment(s):
agree cc in nyc : also possible
13 mins
Something went wrong...
49 mins

balloon

suggestion
Something went wrong...
+1
3 hrs

Blown glass float

I would just eliminate the word since this is usually referred to in English as a blown glass float.
Peer comment(s):
agree Kedls
8 days
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
1 day 13 hrs

sphere

glass ball (to float on water)
Something went wrong...
1 day 15 hrs

globe

A suitable word to match the high-class context
Something went wrong...
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