# regard hiératique



## Kathryn Kroo

Petite et menue, elle se tenait très droite et posait sur moi un regard hautain et hiératique, comme si elle me dépassait d'une tête.

_[…] gave me a haughty, hieratic stare, […]. 

Hiératique _(hieratic)refers to priestly behavior, as in "He spread his arms in a hieratic gesture."
It can mean emotionally severe or rigorous. I thought of imperious or arrogant or even holier-than-thou but those are close to haughty.
Any suggestions?


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## Neuchy

How about you stay with _hieratic_, it's obviously what the author had in mind.


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## archijacq

suggestion: solemn


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## Kathryn Kroo

Hieratic -Not too esoteric?


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## SBeanie

Pious?  Although this would only cover the religious/holier-than-thou sentiment that you're looking for.


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## wildan1

> Hieratic -Not too esoteric?


_Hieratic_ is unlikely to be understood by most even well-educated people.

_Holier-than-thou_ comes to mind; if not that, how about _sanctimonious_?


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## Kathryn Kroo

I thought of holier-than-thou AND sanctimonious! At least we're of like minds. Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going with "_She was small and slender but held herself very erect and gave me a haughty stare, as if she were nobility and a good head taller than me."_


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## Viobi

wildan1 said:


> _Hieratic_ is unlikely to be understood by most even well-educated people.
> 
> _Holier-than-thou_ comes to mind; if not that, how about _sanctimonious_?



Few French native speakers would understand "hiératique", anyway, so what's the problem with "hieratic"?


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## Kathryn Kroo

I think few native English-speakers, even well-educated ones, would understand hieratic. My goal is to be clear but literary (this is a novel, not pulp fiction) and to match the author's tone without being esoteric or obscure.


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## Viobi

I'd go for _sanctimonious_, then. Even those who don't know the word will recognise _sanctity _in it.
_Holier-than-you _sounds good but rather playful, which _hiératique _is definitely not. There's a sense of dignity in the word...


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## Kathryn Kroo

Ok, thanks for the help!


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## Itisi

'Sanctimonious' has nothing to do with 'hiératique.

hiératique [ˈjeʀatik] adj [visage, gestes] solemn (WR Dictionary.)


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## Chimel

What about _stern_?


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## Kathryn Kroo

In the context, the young woman is being obnoxious and sees herself as superior to the other woman. Her look is more than solemn - she's haughty and perhaps severe.


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## Itisi

*Kathryn*, that is still the meaning of the word.  'Hautain' is already there for 'haughty'.


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## Smerfie

Hieratic is a physical description, not a description of character. It indicates a priestly bearing, i.e sacerdotal perhaps, if you care for a euphemism. To imply haughtiness or arrogance from this is false, much as it would be false to imply personality characteristics from the colour of one's skin. The word hautain covers the character of the person here, hieratic doesn't. […]


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## Itisi

Smerfie said:


> Hieratic is a physical description, not a description of character. It indicates a priestly bearing, i.e sacerdotal perhaps, if you care for a euphemism. To imply haughtiness or arrogance from this is false, much as it would be false to imply personality characteristics from the colour of one's skin. The word hautain covers the character of the person here, hieratic doesn't.


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## Kathryn Kroo

Back to the original text: it is her way of looking at the other woman (son regard) that is haughty & "hieratic." There is no mention of her physical bearing, hence the difficulty of finding just the right word in English. She is behaving like a snob, acting superior despite her small size.


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## Smerfie

Hieratic implies a physical bearing. It is used in the original sentence in a somewhat erroneous way. Her look was haughty and her bearing hieratic or priestly, i.e. evocative of priestly actions and posture.


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## Kathryn Kroo

hence, back to my earlier suggestion of "_She was small and slender but *held herself very erect* and gave me a haughty stare, *as if she were nobility* and a good head taller than me."

or perhaps some use of magnanimous...

Anyway, thanks for all suggestions. This must go to my editor soon..._


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## Itisi

As already mentioned, 'hiératique' means 'hieratic', and not something to do with 'nobility', and even less 'magnanimity.  Why not just respect the author's meaning!


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## Santana2002

I think there are only three correct words to use here: hieratic, sacerdotal or priestly.  Priestly will be immediately understood by all, even though not as formal as the other two options.

_Small and slim, she held herself very straight and fixed me with a haughty, priestly (hieratical/sacerdotal) look, as though/if she were a head taller than me._


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## Itisi

Santana2002 said:


> _Small and slim, she held herself very straight and fixed me with a haughty, priestly (hieratical/sacerdotal) look, as though/if she were a head taller than me__._


 But I still think you lose something by not using the word 'hieratic(al)'.


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## Santana2002

Most certainly, but at least readers will be more likely to get the meaning if the word _priestly _is used.


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## Itisi

Viobi said:


> Few French native speakers would understand "hiératique", anyway, so what's the problem with "hieratic"?


 To not use that word is dumbing down.


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## Santana2002

The problem for me, as for several others, is simply the incomprehensibility of the word.  It is not commonly known, even amongst the well-read and literate members here, not to mention the general public.  Does the writer want to show off his vocabulary or does he want the reader to understand what he writes?  What is the translator's aim? As the word _priestly _is a perfectly acceptable synonym, personally it is the word I would choose.  Maybe I would be wrong.


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## Itisi

Well, maybe _I'_m wrong... Still, I wonder how many of us on this thread actually didn't understand that word...? And what's wrong with increasing one's vocabulary by looking in the dictionary? 

If it has to be another word, I think I would prefer *archijacq*'s suggestion of 'solemn', which is also a meaning of 'hiératique', to 'priestly'...


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## petit1

Like Itisi I do think that a lot of people understand this adjective and the ones who do not  would be happy to learn it.
Le nivellement par le bas m'énerve!


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## Kathryn Kroo

I never thought my question would stir up such strong opinions! My problem with priestly is that hieratic is used to describe a woman (and her attitude toward the narrator) in this case. Priests are still generally men so it seems awkward to use it here. 

No desire to "dumb down" but a desire on my part to find le mot juste and to let the reader know what the author intended. If hieratic sends the majority of readers to the dictionary in confusion, I've failed.


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## Santana2002

I'm all for improving my vocabulary, it's one of the reasons I enjoy browsing this forum!
I agree that "priestly" still has very masculine connotations.  Perhaps archijaq's "Solemn" would be a good alternative.

I'm also having doubts about the end of the phrase, which still sounds rather "translated" to me.  The idea, I think, is more that she looks down her nose at the narrator and could be conveyed most succinctly by : "_Small and slim, she held herself very straight and looked haughtily down her nose at me." or perhaps even "Small and slim, she stood up straight and looked ..._


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## Itisi

Kathryn Kroo said:


> Priests are still generally men so it seems awkward to use priestly here._What about priestesses?_ _(Although I don't  personally like priestly'...)_
> 
> ...a desire on my part to let the reader know what the author intended. If hieratic sends the majority of readers to the dictionary in confusion, I've failed. _The author obviously intended to send the French readers to their dictionaries!_


'She looked down her nose': I give up ...


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## Wodwo

I don't think that "hiératique" and "hieratic" are used in quite the same way in French and English. For a start, I have seen "hiératique" used far more often in French than "hieratic" in English, in a way that seems to connote lofty impenetrability rather than anything as professionally specific as "priestliness", as emotional as "arrogance", or as grim as "solemn". Here's an example from a French novel:

Daniel laissa s'écoula quelques instants de silence, un sourire hiératique sur les lèvres, puis il s'entendit réfuter point par point les arguments avancés par le nouveau directeur du service financier".

In this context something like "enigmatic" seems most appropriate. "Hieratic" would be way off register.


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## trans-latour

Tout à fait d'accord avec @Wodwo  pour dire, qu'en français, "hiératique":
- n'est pas si rare que ça, même s'il appartient au langage soutenu,
- et que je ne l'ai jamais entendu prononcé avec une connotation religieuse (qui est pourtant sa connotation originale), mais plutôt, comme l'indique le CNRTL  dans le sens  suivant: "Qui a un caractère de majesté sévère, d'immobilité ou de gravité".

Dans la phrase dont on demande la traduction (#1), il fait donc presque double emploi avec "hautain" dont il renforce l'idée de distance et de supériorité.


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