French Caving Terms
This is a list of French terms often found in route guides and on surveys, together with their translation. Don't forget that words also take meaning from the context in which they are used. I would like to thank Gilbert Bohec and Dagobert L'Ecluse for looking over the list, and for their comments and suggestions, and to Martin Barnicott for his suggestions. Other comments are also welcome.
| A | |
| Aboutissant | Leading |
| Accède | Reaches, accesses |
| accès | Access to |
| Accrocheur | Grabby, catchy |
| Actif, active | Active - with flowing water |
| Affluent | Inlet |
| Agrès | Rigging e.g. ropes, ladders |
| Allongé | Flat-out, as in crawling |
| Allure | Appearance |
| Amarrage | Anchor point |
| Amarrage naturel | Natural anchor point (e.g. chock stone) |
| Amont | Upstream, uphill |
| Anneau de corde | Rope belay loop |
| Arrosée | Watered (as in wet pitch!) |
| Argile | Clay |
| Argileux | Clayey |
| Au dessous | Below, beneath |
| Au dessus | Above, overhead |
| Aval | Downstream, downhill |
| B | |
| Baïonnette (en) | One or more sharp bends in a passage – committing in a small passage |
| balise | beacon, waymark, taped |
| Bas(se) | Low |
| bassin d'alimentation | Drainage basin |
| Baume | Dialect name for a cave |
| Béquet | Natural belay |
| Bief | Canal, pool |
| Bitoniau | Natural belay |
| Bloc coincé | Jammed block |
| Boue | Mud |
| Boueuse | Muddy |
| Boucle | Loop, circuit |
| Boyau | Crawl, gut, low tube |
| Broche | Resin anchor |
| C | |
| Cailloux | Stones, pebbles |
| Caillouteux | Stoney |
| Calcaire | Limestone |
| Canot | Dinghy |
| Carrefour | Crossroad or junction |
| Cascade | Waterfall |
| CDS n | Comité Départemental de Spéléologie, where n is the department number |
| Chatière | A small awkward passage, or squeeze (literally, cat flap) |
| Cheminée | A rising shaft, generally not very wide |
| Choux-fleurs | Cauliflower-type deposit on walls – tends to be abrasive |
| Cloche | Used to describe bell-shaped shafts, or air-bells in sumps |
| Coincé(e) | Jammed, trapped, stuck |
| Coincer | To jam (as in pull-back rope) |
| Collecteur | Streamway (not necessarily active) ('Grand Collecteur' = 'master cave') |
| Colmaté | Clogged, choked |
| Colmatage | Clogging |
| Coloration | Dye test |
| Concrétion | Stalagamitic formations |
| Conduite forcée | Phreatic passage |
| Contrebas | Below |
| Corde | Rope |
| Corde d'assurance | Lifeline |
| Cordelette | Cord (typically 6mm) or sling, typically used for belaying and deviations |
| Couche stalagmitique | Flowstone |
| Corniche | Ledge |
| Coupe | Cross section (survey) |
| Coupe développée | Extended cross section (survey) |
| Coups de gouge | Flow markings |
| Coulée | Flowstone |
| Coulée barrage | Flowstone obstacle |
| Courant d’air | Current of air, draught |
| Creusement | Dig |
| Crue | Flood |
| D | |
| Dénivellement | Vertical development (from highest to lowest points in a cave) |
| Développement | Length |
| Diaclase | Passage associated with a vertical joint or fissure |
| Désobstruction | The clearance of an obstacle in the passage |
| Désobstruée | Excavated, cleared (une entrée désobstruée) |
| Doline | Shakehole |
| Dynamite | Blasted |
| E | |
| E | On a survey, indicates a climb up |
| Eau | Water |
| Eboulis | Rocks/boulder choke |
| Échelle | Ladder |
| Écoulement | Flow, as in water |
| Écroulement | Collapse |
| Effondrement | Collapse |
| Emprunter | Take, as in route |
| Equiper | To rig (pitch, traverse line, etc.) |
| En arrière | Behind |
| En face | Facing, in front |
| Enjambant | Straddling |
| Entrée | Entrance |
| Entrecoupée | Interspersed |
| Escalade | Climb |
| Étiage | Low water |
| Étroite | Tight |
| Étroiture | A narrow but passable passage |
| Exsurgence | Resurgence |
| Évent | Overflow passage, or fossil overflow passage |
| F | |
| Faible | Small (as in passage) |
| Faille | Fault |
| Falaise | Cliff |
| faux-plancher | False floor |
| Fiche d’équipment | Tackle list |
| Fils de fer | Traverse cables |
| Fistuleuses | Straw stalactites |
| Fond | Bottom |
| Forêt | Forest |
| Fossile | Fossil (used to describe passages) |
| Fractionement / frac | Rebelay |
| Frottement | Rub point (ropes) |
| G | |
| Galerie | Normally a commodious passage wider than it is high |
| Genouillères | Knee pads |
| Glissant(e) | Slippery |
| Gouffre | Pothole (usually starts vertical) |
| Grotte | Cave (usually starts horizontally) |
| Graviers | Gravel |
| H | |
| Humide | Damp |
| I | |
| Inférieur | Lower ('galerie inférieur' = 'lower passage') |
| Itinéraire | Route |
| J | |
| Jet | Drop (as in pitch) |
| Joint de stratification | Bedding between two layers of rock, bedding plane |
| Jonction | Junction |
| L | |
| Lac | Lake |
| Laminoir | Bedding plane passage |
| Lapiaz | Limestone pavement |
| Libre | Free |
| Lisse | Smooth, holdless |
| Longe | Cows tails |
| Lucarne | Rock window |
| M | |
| Main courante | Hand line, traverse line |
| Mât d’escalade | Maypole, climbing pole |
| Marmite | Deep circular pool (usually in a stream passage) |
| Méandre | Meandering passage often requiring traversing |
| Mène, mener | Leads, to lead |
| Mousquif | Carabiner |
| Mousqueton | Carabiner |
| N | |
| Noeud | Knot |
| O | |
| Orage | Thunderstorm |
| Opposition | Traversing, typically in meanders |
| P | |
| P | On a survey indicates a pitch, with depth |
| Palier | Landing, stance |
| Parcours | Journey, route |
| Paroi | Wall |
| Parpaing | A large precariously poised boulder |
| Pendule | Pendulum ('pendule à -10m' = pendulum at -10m) |
| Perd dans | Disappears into |
| Perte d'eau | Loss of water, water sinks |
| Peu de | Few |
| Plafond | Ceiling / roof |
| Plan d’eau | Water table |
| Plancher | Floor |
| Plaquette | Hanger |
| Plongeur | Diver |
| Pontonnière | Chest high waders with shoulder straps |
| Porche | Large entrance |
| Profondeur | Depth |
| Prolongation | Extension |
| Puits | Pitch |
| Poulie | Pulley |
| Purger | To clear debris from pitches |
| Q | |
| Queuter | Pinch out, become too small to progress |
| Quatre pattes | On all fours (crawling) |
| R | |
| R | On a survey indicates climb down, with depth |
| Rampe | Steep slope |
| Raide | Steep / bold |
| Ramper | To crawl |
| Ras du sol | Ground / floor level |
| Rappel | Abseil |
| Relais | A place on a pitch where it is convenient to rebelay – e.g. ledge |
| Reliée | Connected, joined, linked |
| Remonter | Climb back up to |
| Remontant | Up ('galerie remontant' = 'ascending gallery') |
| Remplissage | Blockage fill in fossil phreatic passages |
| Ressaut | Climb (generally downwards) - may require equipping |
| Réseau | Cave system |
| Rognons | Chert nodules |
| Ruisselet | Small stream |
| S | |
| Sable | Sand |
| Sablonneux | Sandy |
| Salle | Chamber |
| Sapins d'argile | Sediment towers (mud towers etc.) |
| Sangle | Nylon sling |
| Shunt | Bypass (alternate passage) |
| Silex | Flint nodule |
| Siphon | Sump |
| Skif | Carabiner |
| Sol | Ground, floor |
| Source | Sprint / resurgence |
| Sous | under |
| Souterrain | Underground |
| Spéléo | Caving, caver |
| Spit | Bolt |
| Strate | Stratum - layer of continuous homogeneous sedimentary rock |
| Supérieur | Upper ('galerie supérieure' = 'Upper passage' or 'passage above') |
| Surcreusé | Over-deepened (associated with a trench in the passage) |
| Surcreusement | Over-deepening (associated with a trench in the passage) |
| Surplomb | Overhang |
| Surplombant | Overhanging, overlooking |
| T | |
| Terreuse | Earthy |
| Talweg | Thalweg. The line of a valley floor - typically used for dry valleys |
| Toboggan | Slide or chute, as in steep passage, often slippery |
| Topo(graphie) | Survey |
| Traversée | Traverse through a system, through trip |
| Trémie | Boulder choke |
| Treuil | Winch |
| Tronçon | Section (as in section of a cave) |
| Trou souffleur | Draughting hole / blowhole |
| Tuyau | Tube, passage with a circular cross section |
| V | |
| Vagues d’érosion | Flow markings |
| Vasque | Basin, pool |
| Virage | Bend |
| Vire | Ledge |
| Voûte | Arch (shape of passage roof) |
| Voûte mouillante / rasante | Free-dive, or duck |