Crapaud is a French word meaning "

toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...

Etymology

The word ultimately is rooted from

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

''*krappō'', ''*krappa'', meaning "hook", likely in reference to the toad's hooked feet.

Heraldry

Crapaud is sometimes used as an incorrect reference to the

Fleur-de-lys The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

on the ancient

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

flag of the kings of France. The three fleurs-de-lys were sometimes misinterpreted as "three toads erect, saltant", instead of "three lily flowers".

In fiction

The word ''crapaud'' is used extensively by fictional British soldier Richard Sharpe as a derogatory term for the French in

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...

's novels set during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Jean Crapaud

Jean Crapaud, also Johnny Crappeau or Johnny Crappo, as defined by ''Webster's Online Dictionary'', "is a jocose name given to a Frenchman. It is intended as a national personification of the French people as a whole in much the same sense as

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

is to the English. It is sometimes used as a literary device to refer to a typical Frenchman, usually in the form of ''Monsieur Jean Crapaud''." The usage of the word "crapaud" in this case is similar to the derogative use of the word "

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

", referencing the supposed French affinity for

frog legs Frog legs () are the muscular hindlimbs of frogs that are consumed as food by humans in some cuisines. Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium. They are often said to taste like chicken because of the mild fl ...

as a delicacy.

Jersey Crapaud

The name ''Crapaud'' is used in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

to describe a person from

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, the name meaning ''toad'' in the local

Patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

languages, including

Jèrriais ( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...

and

Guernésiais Guernésiais (), also known as Guerneseyese, ''Dgèrnésiais'', Guernsey French, and Guernsey Norman French, is the variety of the Norman language spoken in Guernsey. It is sometimes known on the island simply as "patois". As one of the langues d ...

. Toads live in Jersey but not on the other islands.

Gallery

File:La Femme aux crapauds par Paul Berthon.png, La Femme aux crapauds par Paul Berthon File:Strasbourg, cathédrale, tentateur et vierges folles 02.jpg, The "tempter" (he holds the forbidden fruit; hidden in his back are toads and reptiles, symbolising corruption) and the foolish virgins (their lamps are overturned, symbolising their emptiness; they hold the scrolls of the law closed, thus remaining ignorant of the Lord's will). A mediaeval interpretation of the

Parable of the Ten Virgins The Parable of the Ten Virgins, also known as the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins or the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, is one of the parables of Jesus. According to , ten virgins await a bridegroom; five have brought enough oil fo ...

from the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

25:1–13. File:Blason Pharamon.svg, Arms of

Pharamond Pharamond, also spelled Faramund, is a legendary early king of the Franks, first referred to in the anonymous 8th-century '' Liber Historiae Francorum'', which depicts him as the first king of the Franks. Historical sources and scholarship Phara ...

: Sable three golden toads. File:Armes du Prince Gwenael Louis GARAUD.png, Arms of Gwenael Louis Garaud File:Rivals - JM Staniforth.png, Cartoon showing France in the guise of Johnny Crappeau