French Word of the Day: Placardiser

Why do I need to know placardiser?

Because it’s a cupboard, but not literally.

What does it mean?

The French verb placardiser, roughly pronounced plah-kar-dee-zay, is an informal term used mainly in the workplace. It means to sideline someone professionally, often by giving them little or no meaningful work or moving them into an unwanted position.

It comes from the word placard, meaning “cupboard” or “closet”, so the image is of someone being metaphorically put away in a cupboard and forgotten.

The word placard actually has a long history. One of its most famous early uses dates back to 1534, during what became known as the affaire des Placards. That year, a Protestant pastor named Antoine de Marcourt wrote a pamphlet attacking the Catholic religion. Copies of the text were secretly put up in public places, including on the door of King Francis I’s bedroom. The king was furious, and the incident helped fuel the persecution of Protestants in France, with some eventually being burned at the stake.

The word placard itself comes from the verb plaquer, meaning “to stick”, “to attach” or “to cover”. But over time, placard developed several other meanings – by the 20th century, it could also refer to a large advertisement, particularly one printed in a newspaper.

The French word placard also came to mean a cupboard or built-in storage space. This meaning comes from an older use of the word for a wooden panel attached to a door. And this is where the modern expression la mise au placard comes from. Literally meaning “putting someone in the cupboard”, la mise au placard is used figuratively when someone is sidelined at work. This is also where the verb placardiser comes from. 

There’s also a more modern expression involving placard – just like the English “to be in the closet”, the French expression être dans le placard refers to the act of hiding one’s sexual orientation or gender identity for fear of rejection.

Le Placard is a 2001 film exploring this idea.

Use it like this

Il a été placardisé après avoir critiqué son patron. – He was sidelined after criticising his boss.

Elle a été placardisée dans un bureau sans responsabilités. – She was pushed aside and put into an office with no responsibilities.

À Paris, une psy scolaire « placardisée » parce qu’elle a dénoncé les abus sexuels dans le périscolaire (Le Parisien) – In Paris, a school psychologist has been ‘sidelined’ for speaking out about sexual abuse in after-school clubs