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  3. Forestry / Wood / Timber

couper le tronc de la première fourche de l'arbre

English translation: to cut the trunk of the first fork in the tree

15:22 Mar 27, 2006
French to English translations [PRO]
Forestry / Wood / Timber
French term or phrase: couper le tronc de la première fourche de l'arbre
Canadian French
Rafael Wugalter (X)
Canada
Local time: 00:03
English translation:to cut the trunk of the first fork in the tree
Explanation:
In the absence of context...Does this seem to fit with your text ?(not all trees would have forks)

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Note added at 17 mins (2006-03-27 15:39:48 GMT)
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Lowest is probably clearer than first.
Yes I agree with Dustry that the "de" is puzzling because the fork would have two trunks so one would need to select which one to cut off (the smallest one usually).
Selected response from:

Beth Varley
Local time: 06:03
Grading comment
Yes, I think it's the trunk of the fork, not the main trunk that comes straight up from the ground. Thank you!
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3to cut the trunk of the first fork in the tree
Beth Varley
3to cut off the trunk at the first fork of the tree
Tony M


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to cut the trunk of the first fork in the tree


Explanation:
In the absence of context...Does this seem to fit with your text ?(not all trees would have forks)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2006-03-27 15:39:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Lowest is probably clearer than first.
Yes I agree with Dustry that the "de" is puzzling because the fork would have two trunks so one would need to select which one to cut off (the smallest one usually).


Beth Varley
Local time: 06:03
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 11
Grading comment
Yes, I think it's the trunk of the fork, not the main trunk that comes straight up from the ground. Thank you!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for the quick answers received so far. Do people tend to say "first fork" in/of a tree as oppose to "lowest", for example? Also, does anyone have any comment on the use of the word "crotch"?

Asker: Thanks! I have managed to find a partial description of the tree (which I may also have trouble translating): "S’effilant en hauteur à partir du sol au moyen de deux fourches, jusqu’à une hauteur d’environ 30 à 40 pieds."

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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to cut off the trunk at the first fork of the tree


Explanation:
Well, that 'de' is a little puzzling, but I can only assume it means 'cut off from'

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Note added at 1 day16 hrs (2006-03-29 07:40:55 GMT) Post-grading
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Since when do 'forks' have 'trunks'? AFAIK, the 'trunk' of a tree is precisely that --- the part of the tree that is free of side branches, up to the first fork only.

This usage is similar in French -- after the 'tronc', at the first fork it becomes a 'marre'

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Note added at 1 day16 hrs (2006-03-29 07:42:07 GMT) Post-grading
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The extra context certainly confirms rather than refutes what I ahve suggested.

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:03
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes, based on the remainder of the document, that's definitely what the "de" means. Thank you! I was able to get a bit of a description of the tree and include it in a note below Beth's response.

Asker: My apologies. I wished you had written about "marre" earler! But this seems to have been a pruning operation, not the creation of a quasi-stump, so it sounds like the New Brunswick (Canada) judge might have been using the wrong terminology to begin with.

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