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calvaire

ordeal, calvary

noun kal-VEHR Rare
Mind & Emotions Emotions

Origin: from Latin Calvaria 'place of the skull' (Golgotha)

Also means

wayside cross, Calvary shrine

Usage Note

Calvaire originally denotes the hill of Calvary where Christ was crucified, and by extension any roadside crucifix monument common in Brittany and rural France. Figuratively it means a prolonged painful ordeal (c'est un vrai calvaire — 'it's a real ordeal'). Both uses are common in modern French.

Examples

"Ces travaux dans la maison sont un vrai calvaire."

Natural Translation

These home renovations are a real ordeal.

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