# Queuing up/ Schlange stehen/...



## ThomasK

What expressions do you use for standing in line (esp. metaphors, but also others) ? 

Eng. *to queue up* (reference to tail, I believe)
German *Schlange stehen* (reference to snake)
Dutch *in de rij wachten* (in the row)


----------



## Cluelesa

_hacer cola_ in Spanish (= "make tail" )


----------



## ThomasK

Hacer coca cola ? Is there a link? Or shall we ask about the origin at the Etymology section ?


----------



## sakvaka

In Finnish: _jonottaa_ (< jono 'queue, line')

No modern Finnish word is clearly involved in this. However, I searched on the Internet and concluded that 'jono' may be related with the "Arian, probably Iranian borrowing juoni 'queue, row; way, road; groove, track; secret plan'" (modern meanings are slighly different). But this goes too much into etymology; in any case associations aren't as clear as they're eg. in German. 

Source: http://www.sgr.fi/susa/92/koivulehto.pdf - bottom of the p. 3 (in Finnish)


----------



## jazyk

In Portuguese (at least in Brazil): fazer/formar fila.


----------



## federicoft

Italian: _fare la coda_, _mettersi in coda_. Also a reference to tail.


----------



## apmoy70

In Greek:
Σχηματίζουν ουρά, sximat*i*zun ur*a*; lit. "[they] form a tail", or
ο κόσμος σχηματίζει ουρά, o k*o*zmos sximat*i*zi ur*a*; lit. "people form a tail"


----------



## ThomasK

jazyk said:


> In Portuguese (at least in Brazil): *fazer/formar fila*.


 
I guess this is the same as in French: a long row, I suppose. I guess it is linked to a thread ('un fil').


----------



## DearPrudence

ThomasK said:


> I guess this is the same as in French: a long row, I suppose. I guess it is linked to a thread ('un fil').


Yes, in French, just in case you would like to be reassured:
"*faire la queue*" (like in Spanish and Italian)

We also have the word "*une file*", but it doesn't really work in a translation for "to queue up"


----------



## ThomasK

In Dutch we can use *'file'* when there is a traffic jam/ congestion: 'in de file staan', but for that you need a car! It might be best to stick to persons standing in line... 

_(I was surprised to see that 'the people' in Greek are referred to as 'kosmos' though, but that is another thread...)_


----------



## Nizo

In Esperanto the verb is *vicatendi* (_vico _= a series of objects or people arranged in a line one behind the other, _atendi_ = to wait) or _atendi vice_.  This is sometimes shortened to _vici_.


----------



## DearPrudence

ThomasK said:


> In Dutch we can use *'file'* when there is a traffic jam/ congestion: 'in de file staan', but for that you need a car! It might be best to stick to persons standing in line...


Actually, "file" can be used for cars (? (if you think really hard about it maybe)), but I wasn't thinking about cars here ("to be in a traffic jam" is rather "être dans un embouteillage", not "dans une file" (at least, in French from France. In French from Belgium, I think I heard that, yes))

For people, you can say:
"*une file (d'attente)*"
Exemple :
*"Mettez-vous dans la file (d'attente)"*

(but with a verb, I mean, I doesn't sound great. "faire la queue" works better, that's why I just mentioned "la file" more in passing)


----------



## ThomasK

'File': I was referring to Dutch-speaking Belgium. I am not so sure whether it is used in Belgian French. 

*'Vico'*: related with 'vicus' in Latin? Doesn't it refer to 'next to' rather than behind ?


----------



## Nizo

ThomasK said:


> *'Vico'*: related with 'vicus' in Latin? Doesn't it refer to 'next to' rather than behind ?


 
The word does come from Latin, and now that I look again, I missed a word when translating the definition:

_*vico* 1. A series of objects or beings, arranged in a line, one next to or behind the other.... _

It is also the word used for a row (of seats, for example) or a turn (as in "it's your turn").

Good catch.  Thanks.


----------



## Favara

Catalan:
_Fer cua_ -> "To make a tail"
_Fer fila_ -> "To make a line"


----------



## Zsanna

In Hungarian all the terms come from the basic
*sorban áll* = stand in a queue 

where *sor* can be translated by 1) line - like e.g. that of a written text from the left marge to the right 2) row - like chairs next to one another side by side e.g. in the cinema or 3) queue - without its _tail_ meaning - like what people form waiting for something, etc. (All in all 11 meanings meantioned by my - not too big - one language Hungarian dictionary!)


----------



## ThomasK

HUngarian is a meaning-ful(l) language ! But what is 'all' ? 'Stand' (Thanks)


----------



## Zsanna

Less number of words to learn/keep in head! 
Yes, *áll* means "stands". 

Another speciality (and no mistake about the "stands"): the 3rd Pers. Sing. form of a verb is used (instead of the infinitive) in expressions - even in dictionaries - because that is (normally) the shortest form and all the suffixes can join the word after that. 
(However, for the sake of simplicity, we don't always inform other people about this.)


----------



## ThomasK

Less is more (complex) perhaps ! _(3rd person: I see, don't the Greek do something similar using the first person? )_


----------



## ThomasK

In Czech: fronta -->  ~ up = čekat ve frontě ?


----------



## bibax

In Czech fronta (from Latin frons = forehead) in the sense "queue, breadline" is rather a colloquial term.

čekat ve frontě = to wait in a queue;
stát ve frontě = to stand in a queue;
postavit se do fronty = to line up;

The literary terms are:

*řada* (= row), when you can hold hands of both your neighbours (like in cinema);

dvojřad, trojřad, čtyřřad, ... (multiple rows)

*zástup* (= file, Indian file)

dvojstup, trojstup, čtyřstup, ... (multiple files)

used mostly in gymnastics and military.


----------



## ThomasK

The 'breadline': standing in line to get bread? But what is the common way of expressing 'standing in line' then if this is (too) colloquial, expressing the idea of getting tired of waiting? 

The funny thing is that I'd never think of queues as rows, only as Indian files. Does the 'stup' refer to standing?


----------



## bibax

> The 'breadline': standing in line to get bread?


Probably. In school we learned about the poor workers in the capitalist countries (including prewar Czechoslovakia), waiting in line for bread for their hungry children. Btw, the movies by Charles Chaplin supported this image.



> The funny thing is that I'd never think of queues as rows, only as Indian files.


We usually wait for bus in a row, often leant against the railing. However file (often double file) is most often when the queue is moving.



> Does the 'stup' refer to standing?


Yes. (zá + stup, za = behind)


----------



## ThomasK

Thanks for the information!


----------



## rusita preciosa

In Russian it is *очередь */otchered'/. The word means either "line/queue" or "turn".
The meaning is something like "succession of turns".


----------



## bibax

Slightly OT.

If you want to see the biggest line-up for meat in the world, find pictures for "Stalin monument Prague" by Google. The monument was always nicknamed *"Fronta na maso"* (= Queue for meat).


----------



## ThomasK

it is not OT, I think, thanks. And as for *очередь:* I guess your translation / paraphrase suggests something like the snake's movement...


----------



## Orlin

In Bulgarian the word for "queue" is "опашка", meaning "tail" as well. Expressions:
чакам на опашка = to wait in a queue;
стоя на опашка = to stand in a queue;
редя се на опашка = to arrange oneself in a queue.


----------



## rusita preciosa

ThomasK said:


> it is not OT, I think, thanks. And as for *очередь:* I guess your translation / paraphrase suggests something like the snake's movement...


Not at all. I do not kow the origin, but the meaning of the root -черед- means turn, successtion, order. The word can also mean round of shots (when talking about an automatic weapon).


----------



## ThomasK

@ Orlin: could you spell the word (/opawka/ ?) - and just confirm that it is the 'regular' animal tail?

@ Rusita: sorry, just guessing (and maybe thinking wishfully); so the main thing is something like an orderly succession, I understand; the word refers to a sequence in time (one moving ahead, then another). It is striking that Czech, Russian and Bulgarian use different expressions here - but maybe because it is so very common or recent (?)...


----------



## Orlin

ThomasK said:


> @ Orlin: could you spell the word (/opashka/ ?) - and just confirm that it is the 'regular' animal tail?


Yes, it's primarily a regular animal tail and the other main meaning is most probably a secondary development (with the idea that people waiting in a queue form something tail-like). Only context determines what is meant.


----------



## ThomasK

Perfect. Would you know whether it has come in use fairly recently or whether it is age-old ?


----------



## Orlin

It can't be older than the 20th century because queues weren't usual before that.


----------



## catlady60

ThomasK said:


> What expressions do you use for standing in line (esp. metaphors, but also others) ?
> 
> Eng. *to queue up* (reference to tail, I believe)


Also, in American English, *to line up *or *form a line.*


----------



## bibax

> It is striking that Czech, Russian and Bulgarian use different expressions here - but maybe because it is so very common or recent (?)...


In Czech the word *fronta* in the sense _queue_ is indeed relatively recent and arose like a colloquial word, probably invented by people waiting in a queue. 

Normally fronta means front (no surprise):

1) atmospheric front - e.g. kalte Front, Warmfront;
2) line between two hostile armies - Kriegsfront;
3) a political formation - e.g. Volksfront;

All these fronts move this way:

 |
 |-->
 |
 |-->
 |
 |-->
 |

However the fronta meaning queue is also a line but it moves this way:

 |
 |
 |
 |
 V

So it is not too logical to call the queue fronta.

Another possibility, also common:

*řada* = row, or series (like in infinite series, actinium series);

derived verb: *řadit se* (imperf.), *zařadit se* (perf.) = to line up;

the Russian cognate: *ряд* [ryad, r'ad]; _řada aktinidů = ряд актинидов = actinide series_);


----------



## Havfruen

catlady60 said:


> Also, in American English, *to line up *or *form a line.*


Yes, or *to stand in line* or *stand on line*.


----------



## ThomasK

The number  of variations in English is growing ! ;-)

As for the Cezch queue: someone suggested queueing on a bridge means moving sidewards ! (Interesting to hear that a row can be a series as well)


----------



## apmoy70

In Greek, the feminine noun «ουρά» (u'ra) means exactly "tail", Classical noun «οὐρὰ» (ou'ră _f._), PIE base *ersā, _tail_ (cognate with O.E _ærs_, Eng. _arse_, Ger. _arsch_, Hittite _arraš_)


----------



## Orlin

Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian rep means "a tail" and can colloquially be used for "a queue".


----------



## catlady60

Havfruen said:


> Yes, or *to stand in line* or *stand on line*.


Or yet, to *wait in line *or *wait on line.*


----------



## ThomasK

@ Apmoy: the PIE 'tail' link is one I'd never have thought of ! ;-)


----------

