dépanneur

repairman, troubleshooter

noun day-pah-NUR Rare

Origin: From dépanner (to fix a breakdown)

Also means

convenience store (Quebec French)

Usage Note

Dépanneur in metropolitan French is the person who fixes a breakdown — a dépanneur automobile is a breakdown mechanic. In Quebec, however, un dépanneur is a corner convenience store, a usage that surprises French visitors. The verb dépanner is also used informally to mean 'to help someone out of a jam'.

Examples

"Le dépanneur a réparé la chaudière en deux heures."

Natural Translation

The repairman fixed the boiler in two hours.

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