# Le Châtelier -- Translation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685 "2014-03-27T15:53:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/1 "2014-03-27T15:53:32Z")
I don’t speak French, so this looks like it might translate to ‘The Cat-Maker’. But ‘cat’, in French, is ‘chat’ and not ‘chât’ isn’t it? Maybe the name is related to ‘château’? Maybe ‘Castle-Maker’? ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/2 "2014-03-27T16:02:48Z")
My paper-back dictionary says “cat’s hole - as in a door, etc.” ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/3 "2014-03-27T16:14:07Z")
Are you sure it is not a name? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/4 "2014-03-27T16:22:09Z")
It’s a place-name. I’d wager it has an etymological connection to château rather than a chat. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/5 "2014-03-27T16:47:16Z")
It’s a person’s name (in the most famous case) - the principle is named after [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Le_Chatelier), who discovered it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/6 "2014-03-27T16:55:06Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Are you sure it is not a name? Yes, it’s a name. But names have a meaning. For example, Messerschmidt is Cutler and Schumacher is Shoemaker and du Bois is ‘of the woods’ for Wood or Woods. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/7 "2014-03-27T17:03:57Z")
Typically the carat “^” replaces an “S”, as in hospital or hostel, so your second guess would most likely be right. Maybe means a guy who runs the castle? I doubt there was a castle “maker” occupation. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/8 "2014-03-27T17:07:53Z")
Some information [here](http://www.etymo-logique.com/le-mot-du-jour/chatel-luc/) (in French). The gist is: The office of castellan / chatelain often gives rise to the surname Châtelain / Châtelin. It’s just a job, not necessarily anything especially noble. For smaller properties, the diminutives Châtelard or Châtelet might be in force, or further west, Châtelier / Lechatelier. Plus, of course, surnames often derive from place names. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/9 "2014-03-28T07:01:28Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Some information [here](http://www.etymo-logique.com/le-mot-du-jour/chatel-luc/) (in French). The gist is: > > The office of castellan / chatelain often gives rise to the surname Châtelain / Châtelin. It’s just a job, not necessarily anything especially noble. For smaller properties, the diminutives Châtelard or Châtelet might be in force, or further west, Châtelier / Lechatelier. > > Plus, of course, surnames often derive from place names. I suspect it’s more likely to derive from a toponym, since castle-related toponyms are ludicrously common. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/10 "2014-03-29T15:00:36Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Typically the carat “^” replaces an “S”, as in hospital or hostel, so your second guess would most likely be right. Maybe means a guy who runs the castle? I doubt there was a castle “maker” occupation. A carat is a measure of weight (diamonds) or purity (gold). The ^ sign is referred to as circumflex, or (in French) accent circonflexe. You may be thinking of the ‘caron’, or more commonly háček, which _is_ a diacritical sign, but not the one used in French - instead it’s the ˇ sign, like the one used in my username. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/11 "2014-03-29T15:11:05Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > A carat is a measure of weight (diamonds) or purity (gold). The ^ sign is referred to as circumflex, or (in French) accent circonflexe. You may be thinking of the ‘caron’, or more commonly háček, which _is_ a diacritical sign, but not the one used in French - instead it’s the ˇ sign, like the one used in my username. No, he’s thinking of a [caret](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caret), but you’re right that this is not the name of the diacritical mark. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/12 "2014-03-29T15:42:42Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I suspect it’s more likely to derive from a toponym, since castle-related toponyms are ludicrously common. It may be so, as it seems that there are indeed [a few places](http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=AdAYRLukKUcC&pg=PA1467&sa=X&ei=UeI2U-2NJY6okgW_o4HoDA&ved=0CFYQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%C3%A9tymologie%20ch%C3%A2telier&f=false) named Le Châtelier in France. However, that doesn’t really answer the question, because you’re still left wondering why these places are called this way. As **Dr. Drake** ’s cite shows, the word breaks down into _Châtel_ – castle, and _-ier_. In this context, this suffix denotes an occupation. See for instance _hôtel_ -\> _hôtelier_. Following this line, a _Châtelier_, would be someone whose occupation is related to castles. On the other hand, this [90s-tastic page](http://www.infobretagne.com/chatellier.htm) about a place in Bretagne called Le Châtelier claims it is named after a Roman observation fort, the _castellum_. Note that this is the same Latin word from which _château_ derives, and so here, the _-ier_ suffix is likely a diminutive. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/13 "2014-03-29T17:02:36Z")
-ier is never a diminutive, it clearly refers to some type of profession. I can’t find anything on the French, but in Dutch, there’s a profession called ‘[kastelein](http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kastelein)’ derived from ‘kasteel’ (castle) that I think is related. I thought it only meant barman or landlord (of a pub or inn) but apparently it derives from a feudal position that was something like a steward or placeholder of some castle owner. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/le-chatelier-translation/684685/14 "2014-03-30T15:19:56Z")
I immediately thought of “hôtelier”. This would be someone who runs an hotel. My guess is that a “Châtelier” runs a château.