Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
You know, that's a good point you raise, I used the same term a few days back on ET and looked it up on Merriam & Websters before (but still carried on with using it) because I thought it didn't carry the extra meaning that it does in French. The original meaning exists in both French and English, but in French we also use the term to define a relationship of equilibrium (and joy if applied to humans). Does Spanish have that extra meaning too?
by Alex in Toulouse on Tue Jun 27th, 2006 at 07:50:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
ps: it's an acquired meaning, not in original French ...
This is all I found so far:

[sens figuré] Influence réciproque.

Influence réciproque, interpénétration -- Une osmose s'est produite entre ces deux civilisations.

by Alex in Toulouse on Tue Jun 27th, 2006 at 07:52:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ah.

Strange acquired meaning. Osmosis is usually unidirectional.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Jun 27th, 2006 at 07:54:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Warning: I've just forced myself to drink coffee (I almost never do drink any), so my blood-alcohol content is getting bypassed by my accelerated (facilitated) brain activity.

So exit Physics & Chemistry, here I come Vocabulary ;)))

by Alex in Toulouse on Tue Jun 27th, 2006 at 07:57:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series