"du jour" and "current"

[dragonia]

Are there any similarities between "du jour" and "current"? If not, what are the differences between the two words?

Merriam Webster defines these words as follows:

Definition of du jour
1: made for a particular day —used of an item not specified on the regular menu
soup du jour
2: popular, fashionable, or prominent at a particular time
the buzzword du jour

current
1a(1): occurring in or existing at the present time
the current crisis
current supplies
current needs
(2): presently elapsing
the current year
(3): most recent
the magazine's current issue
the current survey
archaic: RUNNING, FLOWING
2: generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment
current fashions
current ideas about education

I notice a pattern between sense 2 of du jour ("popular, fashionable, or prominent at a particular time") and sense 2 of current ("generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment"), but I don't really have the tools or the intellect to truly understand what that similarity is (the only similarity I've figured out thus far: they both share a sense of short-lived popularity). Is there really a similarity between these two words (the pattern between sense 2 of du jour and sense 2 of current)? If there is no such similarity between the words and their senses, then what are the differences?

 

[5jj]

Definition of du jour

2: popular, fashionable, or prominent at a particular time
the buzzword du jour

current

2: generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment
current fashions
current ideas about education

Those definitions sum up the differences in meaning quite well.

 

[dragonia]

@5jj Am I assume that du jour is used to describe something fashionable or current (the thing that is fashionable is a fad), and current refers to something that is accepted to a certain degree (the thing that is current is not going to be accepted for long)?

 

[5jj]

'Current' in itself conveys no idea of acceptability.or being fashionable. It simply refers to something existing during a particular time period.

'du jour' is used of something that is popular or fashionable during a particular time period that is generally fairly short.

 

[Rover_KE]

The main difference is in their usage. A restaurant menu doesn't say the soup current and we don't say the du jour year is 2022.

I see you posted the same thread here.

Please don't post the same question to different forums simultaneously. Post on one forum only, wait for responses and then, only if you are disappointed with/confused by the responses (or there aren't any), post on another forum and include a link to the first forum thread.

(emsr2d2)

 

[jutfrank]

I don't understand what your question really is or why you're asking it. Could you say more about what you're trying to do? Are you thinking about meaning or use?

 

[dragonia]

@jutfrank I'm asking primarily about the differences and similarities in terms of meaning; as I said, there seems to be a similarity between the two words, but I just can't put my finger on it. I lack the ability to read between the lines of this similarity. There might be a chance I am wrong in my assessment. It is possible there is no similarity, only a difference. But I would appreciate it if you also explain the words in the context of usage.

 

[emsr2d2]

du jour = fashionable or on trend now
current = happening/existing now

 

[jutfrank]

@jutfrank I'm asking primarily about the differences and similarities in terms of meaning; as I said, there seems to be a similarity between the two words, but I just can't put my finger on it. I lack the ability to read between the lines of this similarity. There might be a chance I am wrong in my assessment. It is possible there is no similarity, only a difference.

I still don't understand. Where is this question taking you? If you're talking about some kind of similarity in core meaning, you can't say much more than that both words have a sense of relating to a particular point in time.

See post #8 for a summary of this similarity.

 

[probus]

It's worth noting that English has borrowed "du jour" from the jargon of French gastronomy. Therefore when it is used in other contexts it is often being used jokingly or ironically.