Have any of you heard of this French Cajun word, conie, meaning "deceitful?" I am at a conference and one of the attendees from Louisiana said it's a pretty common word there. Yet, I couldn't find it anywhere. I am wondering if she is misspelling it.

There's an obsolete English word conie, meaning "known" That comes from the French, connu, "known". The word is used by Shakespeare in Love's Labours Lost with the negative prefix as in-conie or incony, "unknown".

I suppose in Cajun the meaning could have changed over time to mean "found out", and thus "deceitful".

There is also the unrelated coney, meaning "rabbit".

The rabbit connection is what first occurred to me, though I think a cony is a separate species similar to a rabbit. Then there's the archaic English word, "couthe," IIRC, probably related to "conie."

The person who told me about it said that it would be different in French Cajun from general French. However, since I couldn't find it online, I am wondering if she is spelling it right.

I found a Cajun French glossary at http://appl003.lsu.edu/artsci/...lossary?OpenDocument but that doesn't include the word. It's obviously not exhaustive, though.

It does however have canaille (pronounced something like KAH NAHY) which is very likely the word you're looking for. It is glossed as

quote:

1. mischievous [of children]. 2. sneaky, wily. [This word does not have the strong pejorative connotation it has in standard French.]

Obviously from Coney Island, with its deceitful games of chance.

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff:
Then there's the archaic English word, "couthe," IIRC, probably related to "conie."

I don't think so, "couthe" is related to "can/could"

BTW, my colleague pronounced it cah-NEYE. She indicated that it's used a lot but she wasn't sure of the spelling. It probably is the word that arnie found.

[edited typo]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

Connected to the English "conniving", which is from the French "conniver", perhaps?

quote:

Originally posted by goofy:


I don't think so, "couthe" is related to "can/could"

From which, IIRC, we get "canny/uncanny," which often suggests slyness.

There's the whole concept of cony-catching from Elizabethan times (link). French now has lapin for rabbit, having replaced the older conis, conil < Latin cuniculus 'rabbit' < cunnus 'female pudenda' + -iculus (double diminutive, cf homunculus 'manikin'). Not really related to the con in con-man which is from [i]confidence, but who knows.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
BTW, my colleague pronounced it cah-NEYE. She indicated that it's used a lot but she wasn't sure of the spelling. I probably is the word that arnie found.

I think you're right, it's "canaille". Altho the Cajun dictionary Arnie cites says the last syllable is pronounced NAHY (like the Eng word 'nigh')-- as does a Canadian Fr dic I found, & that's how it's said in France. But I listen to Cajun & Fr-Canadian folk songs, & hear "aille" pronounced as "eille", EY, or even EE