gerbe

sheaf; spray (of flowers or sparks)

noun ZHERB Rare

Usage Note

Gerbe originally meant a sheaf of harvested grain and still carries that agricultural sense. Today it is most commonly encountered as une gerbe de fleurs (a spray of flowers) laid at a memorial, or des gerbes d'étincelles (showers of sparks). The phrase déposer une gerbe is the standard expression for laying a wreath at a ceremony. The plural is regular: des gerbes.

Examples

"Il a déposé une gerbe devant le monument."

Natural Translation

He laid a wreath in front of the monument.

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