French Conversation · Level 118
59 words
French word
canut
Pronunciation
IPA/kany/
Meaning
- masculine nounsilk worker
Example
Un canut tissait de la soie.
A silk worker was weaving silk.
More examples
Tu connais les canuts de Lyon ?
Do you know Lyon's silk workers?
Core concept
A nineteenth-century Lyon silk weaver whose craft is tied to the city's workshop economy.
Similar words
tisserand: A craft worker who makes cloth by weaving threads on a loom or by hand.
artisan: A skilled craft worker who makes products by hand or with specialized techniques.
ouvrier: A manual worker performing physical tasks in a factory or at a worksite.
Definition in French
Terme désignant un ouvrier de la soie de Lyon, historiquement lié aux ateliers et au travail du tissage.
Word origin
In Lyon, canut developed as a regional name for silk weavers and is documented as a nineteenth-century term, but no deeper origin is stated with certainty.
Usage tips
- In historical writing, canut often appears in les révoltes des canuts, referring to the Lyon silk workers' uprisings.
Other meanings
- Lyon silk weavernoun