In the Europe 1 program "Historically yours", Stéphane Bern examines the roots of an expression of everyday life.
Thursday, April 1 requires, he is interested in the origin of the term "hoax".
A word that has its origins in Latin, before making a detour to the prestigious Ecole normale supérieure.
Stéphane Bern suggests every day, in
Historically yours
with Matthieu Noël, to discover these expressions that we use on a daily basis, without necessarily knowing their origin.
Thursday, on the occasion of April 1, the host explains the astonishing roots of the word "hoax".
"What day is more prone to hoaxes than April 1? The very etymology of the term 'hoax' is reminiscent of an April Fool's Day. And yet it is very true. 'Hoax' comes from the Latin 'canna', which means' pipe "and also designates a small reed. Later, we will obtain by extension the word" cannula ": a pipe that is used to introduce liquid into the body. Yes, we are talking about enemas.
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The Latin "canna" even gave a French verb, which is no longer used, "canuler", which meant "to annoy" or "to annoy".
He was directly referring to the inconvenience one might experience when performing said enema.
Mixture of real and fake latin
In the same vein, in the 19th century, the students of the Ecole normale supérieure had invented a word in pseudo-Latin: "canularium".
It meant some sort of hazing for newcomers, not a very pleasant time.
It is this "cannularium", truncated, which gave the "hoax" that we know.
Let's end with a hoax.
In 1913, a journalist sent over a hundred French parliamentarians an invitation to inaugurate a monument to the glory of the great Hégésippe Simon, a precursor of democracy and republican values.
The event took place in the town of Poil, in the Nièvre area.
He received responses from high officials ready to come naked, or "sorry we can't come naked".
Needless to say, Hégésippe never existed, but that Poil, even today, is a pretty commemorative plaque to his glory.
And to the glory of this hoax. "