The chômeur (from the French word for "unemployed"), in the context of grammar, is an element of a sentence that has been syntactically "demoted" from the nucleus to the periphery of a clause. In a passive sentence, the agent is a chômeur, having been "demoted" from the nuclear function of subject. For instance, by changing the sentence Dogs attack the postman into The postman is attacked by dogs, one transforms "dogs" into a chômeur.