From these 26 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
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The fourteenth entry is le regard de visite, and the noun in front of it is where an English reader loses their footing, because here it has stopped meaning what it means everywhere else. Le regard is first of all a look, and usually a deliberate one: un regard noiris a glareelle a croisé son regardis two pairs of eyes meetingsous le regard de tousis in full view of everybody From the eye it moves to the mind, so porter un regard neuf sur une question is to take a fresh view of it, and the fixed phrase au regard de la loi means in the eyes of the law. And then, with no warning at all, the word becomes a piece of ironwork in a pavement. A regard is the small chamber through which a buried drain can be opened, rodded and looked at, and a builder uses the word with no feeling of metaphor whatever. One idea holds all three together: a regard is wherever looking is possible. English needs « look », « view » and « inspection chamber », and the family disappears.
l’eau destinée à la consommation humainewater intended for human consumptionNoun (f)C2
L’eau destinée à la consommation humaine est contrôlée à la sortie du compteur.Water intended for human consumption is tested where it leaves the meter.
la protection contre les retours d’eaubackflow preventionNoun (f)C2
La protection contre les retours d’eau est obligatoire au robinet de jardin.Backflow prevention is compulsory on an outside tap.
la stagnationstagnationNoun (f)C2
La stagnation dans une branche morte réchauffe l’eau.Stagnation in a dead leg lets the water warm up.
la perte de chargepressure lossNoun (f)C2
La perte de charge se voit au dernier étage.Pressure loss announces itself on the top floor.
la colonne de chutethe soil stackNoun (f)C2
La colonne de chute traverse tous les étages.The soil stack runs from the roof to the basement through every floor.
la ventilation primairethe stack ventNoun (f)C2
La ventilation primaire sort en toiture.The stack vent finishes above the roof line.
la station de relevagethe lifting stationNoun (f)C2
La station de relevage remonte les eaux du sous-sol.A lifting station pushes basement waste back up to the drain.
la récupération des eaux de pluierainwater harvestingNoun (f)C2
La récupération des eaux de pluie alimente les toilettes.Rainwater harvesting is usually plumbed through to the lavatories.
les eaux grisesgreywaterNoun (f)C2
Les eaux grises viennent de la douche et du lavabo.Greywater is what runs out of the shower and the basin.
la céramique sanitairesanitarywareNoun (f)C2
La céramique sanitaire supporte mal les produits agressifs.Sanitaryware takes badly to aggressive cleaning products.
la protection contre les brûluresscald protectionNoun (f)C2
La protection contre les brûlures est réglée à la mise en service.Scald protection is set once, at commissioning.
la salle de bains accessiblethe accessible bathroomNoun (f)C2
La salle de bains accessible se passe de marche à l’entrée de la douche.An accessible bathroom has no step at the shower.
