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salon de compagnie

English translation: drawing room

15:57 Oct 31, 2009

French to English translations [PRO]
History

French term or phrase: salon de compagnie

Dans le salon de compagnie, le maître de maison interprète au piano un accompagnement musical.

description of the rooms of the castle.
any help would be kind, thank you.

Mary-Ann Marque KudoZ activity Questions: 173 (2 open) (3 without valid answers) Answers: 161 France
Local time: 09:48

English translation:drawing room

Explanation:
According to Edith Wharton, the 'salon' was divided into two rooms at a certain point in time, the 'salon de compagnie' and the 'salon de famille'. 'Drawing room' is a term that sounds old-fashioned, as well as a bit formal. See "The Decoration of Houses" by Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman.

Selected response from:

Jill Ananyi
United States
Local time: 03:48

Grading comment

thank you very much! Mary-Ann
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +11

drawing room

Jill Ananyi

3 +1

salon

John Detre

state room

Helen Shiner

reception room

telletubby

parlour

Verginia Ophof

Summary of reference entries provided

definition of drawing room

Sheila Wilson

Some castle drawing rooms:

B D Finch

Discussion entries: 6

Answers

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

salon

Explanation:
simple as that?

John Detre
Canada
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +11

drawing room

Jill Ananyi
United States
Local time: 03:48
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

thank you very much! Mary-Ann

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Chris Hall: Yes, I disagree with teletubby, because I am sure people used to say in days gone by "Let us retire to the drawing room" when they had guests after the evening meal. I am sure that a typical drawing room did have a piano in the corner of the room.

23 mins

-> Thanks. In ask.com, the first meaning for 'drawing room' is 'a large room in which guests are entertained'.

agree

Sheila Wilson

26 mins

-> Thanks

agree

Gilla Evans

34 mins

-> thanks

agree

writeaway: a drawing room in a castle would consist of a bit more than just a piano stuck in the corner-but music was performed in an intimate atmosphere and a reception room was for receptions not private concerts.

48 mins

-> Yes, part of the original idea of the drawing room is that it was a smaller room off the main reception room to which priviledged guests would withdraw after dinner.

agree

Stephanie Ezrol

1 hr

-> Thanks.

agree

Rob Grayson

1 hr

-> Thanks

agree

Ingeborg Gowans: good reference!

2 hrs

-> Yes, Edith Wharton is classier than many references one finds.

agree

emiledgar: no doubt

2 hrs

-> Thanks.

agree

Jeux_de_Mots

4 hrs

-> Thanks.

neutral

Helen Shiner: I really think this is far too bourgeois or at least only to be found in a private home.

18 hrs

agree

B D Finch: Queen Victoria didn't find it too bourgeois. See my references to various castle drawing rooms. Every good castle seems to have had one.

20 hrs

agree

Mary O’Connor

3 days6 hrs

25 mins confidence:

reception room

Explanation:
The problem here is that most terms are no longer in use or no longer retain their earlier meanings. Hence 'drawing room' was a room to 'withdraw' to, so hardly correct for a 'salon de compagnie' which was a sitting room specifically used and big enough for, entertainment.
Today we often speak loosely of reception rooms as any room that isn't kitchen, bedroom or bathroom. But strictly of course it was a room in which to receive guests - as here.

telletubby
France
Local time: 09:48
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

2 hrs confidence:

parlour

Explanation:
anther suggestions as it refers to a castle

Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 02:48
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

18 hrs confidence:

state room

Explanation:
Given that this is a castle and not a bourgeois home, I would go for something far grander than 'drawing room'.

This link indicates that a drawing room belongs to a home rather than a castle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_room

To properly name such a room, one would need to know the period in which the castle was built and which country it is in.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_room

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Note added at 2 days2 hrs (2009-11-02 17:58:16 GMT)
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Clearly I am not explaining myself and being drowned out by rather silly comments at times. It is important here to establish whether the castle/chateau in question still employs the original term for the room in question, or whether a more modern term is being used reflecting its current usage. Rooms in such buildings had very rigid functions, which do not simply translate to our modern-day understanding of what a drawing room is. Also whether there is a piano in the room has absolutely nothing to do with the name of the room. It is also essential to be clear about which country this is in. The German layout/cultural usage of rooms differs from the English which differs again from the Italian, for instance. Further it is critically important to know the date when this building was constructed and hence when the room was named. Quite evidently room layout and function changed over time.
Chateau is often far better translated as palace.

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:48
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

Chris Hall: A multi-functional room that can be used for any purpose in a palace or *castle*; any room where visitors may be entertained; now, the living room; a private room on a railroad sleeping car (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drawing_room)

8 hrs

-> I don't agree with that definition. Medieval castles, for instance, did not have a drawing room. We would need to know more context as I have requested.

neutral

B D Finch: Your ref. gives the following example of the drawing room of a "bourgeois home" hmmm: "... the privileged members of court would gather in the drawing room outside the king's bedroom..."

1 day4 hrs

-> I am sorry, but i am right to point this out. Historic usage changes over time and is very codified. We cannot apply our modern concepts. Sheila makes the point clearer in asking whether this is a castle at all. Far more likely to be a chateau in France.

Reference comments

36 mins

Reference: definition of drawing room

Reference information:
Main Entry: drawing room
Function: noun
Etymology: short for withdrawing room
Date: 1642

1 a : a formal reception room b : a private room on a railroad passenger car with three berths and an enclosed toilet
2 : a formal reception

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drawing room

A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained. The name is derived from the sixteenth-century terms "withdrawing room" and "withdrawing chamber," which remained in use through the seventeenth century, and made its first written appearance in 1642 (OED). ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_room

Others similar definitions come up in a Google "define" search

Sheila Wilson
France
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

20 hrs peer agreement (net): +1

Reference: Some castle drawing rooms:

Reference information:
If "drawing room" was good enough for Queen Victoria, it should not be written off as too bourgeois and, as Balmoral might not qualify as a real castle, there are a few others.

"Balmoral Castle: The Drawing Room, 1857. 1857. James Roberts · Commissioned by Queen Victoria · About this work of art. Work 1 of 6335: ..."
www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?object... -

"12 Aug 2009 ... Description, Dublin Castle Drawing Room chandelier.jpg. Closeup of a chandelier in the State Drawing Room of Dublin Castle. ..."
commons.wikimedia.org/.../File:Dublin_Castle_Drawing_Room_chandelier.jpg -

"You can see the reconstructed Hutton Castle Drawing Room online, both as a QuickTime 360 degree image, and as series of still images in a slide show. ..."
www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/showExhibition.cfm?...

"Castle Drawing Room. The Drawing Room was one of Charles Bucklers first restorations for the 15th Duke in 1877. The principal feature of the room is the ..."
www.places-to-go.org.uk/arundel_castle_drawingroom.htm -

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Note added at 20 hrs (2009-11-01 12:25:10 GMT)
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"Kilkenny Castle. skip to content; Home · Visitor Information ... The Drawing Room. This room has been furnished in the same period style as the Library. ..."
www.kilkennycastle.ie/.../TouroftheCastle/ATouroftheCastle/... -

www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/object.asp?object... -

B D Finch
France
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)

neutral

Helen Shiner: Medieval castles do not have drawing rooms - as I have said elsewhere this will/must depend on the period of the castle in question. Room names reflect codified usage and retain original names. We need more context.

12 hrs

-> Medieval castles didn't have pianos either. Whenever it was built, this castle seems to have moved with the times; it probably has a lounge with a telly as well! (I jest.)

agree

Christopher Crockett: Who said this was a middlevil castle? In any event, it has a piano in it, which strongly suggests a post-1500 date. The "withdrawing room" denotes a *function*, not an architectural form. Note: 18th c. counts as "post-1500."

1 day2 hrs

-> Thanks Christopher. As you say, it is function rather than form. The piano actually makes this 18th century or later.

Voters for reclassification
as
PRO / non-PRO

Non-PRO (1): writeaway

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