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“Ad fontes!”

Tag: Froissart

the legendary origin of ‘a Roland for an Oliver’

6th Nov 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

meaning: ‘tit for tat’—Oliver was a full match for his comrade Roland, the legendary nephew of Charlemagne in ‘La Chanson de Roland’ and other romances

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origin of the adverb ‘cap-a-pie’ (from head to foot)

31st May 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

English ‘cap-a-pie’ is from ‘de cap à pied’, ‘from head to foot’, used in Occitan and in the Middle French of southern France.

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