French Word of the Day: Démago
Why do I need to know
démago?
Because
this word has become more common in political discourse in recent years.
What does it mean?
Démago
- roughly pronounced day-mah-go - is the shortened version of the word
démagogue
, though it might also be the shortened version of
démagogie
(demagogy) or
démagogique
(demagogic) depending on the context.
As you might've guessed, the word
démagogue
translates as demagogue in English, and it refers to a person who appeals to the desires and prejudices of the masses to attain political power and popularity.
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The 'o' ending is a fairly common one in French for a shortened, more casual version of a word eg
restaurant = resto
,
exposition = expo
(exhibition, usually of art but can also refer to a display, for example
le modèle expo
would be the display model of an item in a shop).
These are casual so more common in spoken than written French, but they're not regarded as rude.
Within the world of politics,
d
émago
is somewhat similar to the way that French people shorten the word
fasciste
to become
facho
.
The shortened version of
démago
carries the same meaning, but it is a bit lighter and more colloquial than the full term. For example, the left-wing publication Libération recently ran the headline
Edouard Philippe, enfin une droite pas démago
(Edouard Philippe, finally a right-wing that isn't demagogic).
Use it like this
J'ai suggéré que nous augmentions la responsabilité des dépenses et ils m'ont qualifié de démago. -
I suggested we increase spending responsibility and they called me a demagogue.
Certains pensent que le candidat est anti-libéral et démago, mais nous verrons ce que les électeurs en penseront dans une semaine.
- Some think the candidate is illiberal and demagogic, but we'll see what voters think in a week.
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