| abatis abattis | a means of defense formed by felled trees, the ends of whose branches are sharpened and directed outwards, or against the enemy. |
| abattoir | a slaughterhouse. |
| abattu | cast down, dejected. |
| abature | a trail through a wood beaten down by a stag. |
| abbe | the French word answering to the English abbot, the head of an abbey; but commonly a title of respect given in France to every one vested with the ecclesiastical habit or dress. |
| abbreviature | an abridgement; an abbreviated state or form. |
| aboideau aboiteau | a tide gate > ABOIDEAUS or ABOIDEAUX. |
| abonnement | a subscription, as for a season ticket or newspaper. |
| abrege | an abridgment. |
| abri | a bomb shelter. |
| absinth absinthe | the wormwood plant or other species of Artemisia; a liqueur made from this. |
| accable | depressed, overwhelmed. The e has an acute accent. |
| accolade | an embrace; the action used in conferring knighthood. |
| accouchement | childbirth; a confinement. |
| accoucheur | a male midwife. Cf. ACCOUCHEUSE. |
| accoucheuse | a female midwife. Cf. ACCOUCHEUR. |
| accoutrement | an accessory item of clothing or equipment – usually used in the plural. |
| acharne | furious, desperate (esp. of battles). The e has an acute accent. |
| acierage | the covering of a metal plate with a film of iron. |
| acquis | a particular piece or section of European Union legislation. |
| actualite | the real state of affairs. The e has an acute accent. |
| adieu | a farewell > ADIEUS or ADIEUX. |
| adjutage ajutage | a tube added to or inserted into an aperture to control the outflow of water, as a pipe at the mouth of an artificial fountain. |
| affaire | liaison, intrigue. |
| affiche | a poster; a placard. |
| agacant | provoking, alluring. |
| agacante | (feminine of AGACANT) provoking, alluring. |
| agacerie | an allurement, coquetry. |
| agiotage | speculative dealing on the stock exchange. |
| agrafe agraffe | a hooked clasp used by masons to hold blocks together. |
| agregation | the examination for post of AGREGE, a French student who has passed a teaching examination. |
| agrege | a French student who has passed a teaching examination. |
| agremens | courtesies, blandishments. N.B. there is no singular AGREMEN*. |
| agrement | the approval by a state of a diplomatic representative sent to it. |
| aide | a confidential assistant to a person of senior rank. |
| aigret aigrette | a spray of jewels; ornamental feather plume; an egret. |
| aiguille | a needle-like peak of rock. |
| aiguillette | the metal tag of a lace or string. Also AGLET, AIGLET. |
| aileron | a hinged flap on the trailing edge of an airplane wing that moves up or down for purposes of lateral balance. |
| ailette | a plate of armour worn on the shoulder. |
| aine | elder, senior. |
| ainee | (feminine form of) elder, senior. |
| aioli | a garlic-flavoured mayonnaise. [Fr., f. Prov. ai garlic + oli oil.] |
| alamode | a soft, light silk, used in 19th century for shawls, dresses, etc. [Fr. a la mode, according to the fashion]. |
| alamort | half-dead; dejected. |
| alcool | a form of pure grain spirit distilled in Quebec. |
| alencon | a needlepoint lace. [From Alencon, a town in NW France]. |
| alerion allerion | an eagle displayed without feet or beak. |
| alexandrine | a French verse form. |
| allee | an avenue, walk or garden path. |
| allemande | a courtly baroque dance in which the arms are interlaced. |
| allonge | a paper attached to a commercial bill requiring signatures. |
| allons | let's go. |
| almandine almandite | a deep red garnet consisting of an iron aluminum silicate. |
| alternat | the diplomatic practice of determining precedence between powers of equal rank by lot. |
| altesse | highness. |
| amadou | a kind of fungus used as tinder. |
| amandine | albumin in sweet almonds; a cold cream composed of that substance. |
| amarelle | a kind of sour cherry. |
| ambage | a winding; a roundabout way; delay. |
| ambitty | of glass, devitrified. |
| ambuscade | an ambush. |
| ame | a soul. |
| amenage | (Obs.) to manage, control. |
| amende | a fine or reparation paid. |
| ami | a (male) friend. |
| amie | a (female) friend. |
| amorce | a percussion cap for a toy pistol. [Fr. amorce, priming]. |
| amort | spiritless, dejected. |
| amour | love. Amour propre: self-respect. |
| amourette | a brief or unimportant love affair. |
| ampere | a unit of electrical current. [From French physicist, A.M. Ampere]. |
| amusette | a light field cannon, or stocked gun mounted on a swivel. |
| anana ananas | the pineapple plant. |
| andouille | a kind of sausage. |
| andouillette | a kind of pork sausage. |
| anisette | a cordial or liqueur flavoured with anise seeds. |
| anomie | a state of society in which normative standards of conduct and belief are weak or lacking. |
| apache | a member of the French underworld. |
| apercu | a brief outline; a glimpse; an intuitive insight. |
| aperitif | a drink taken as an appetiser. |
| apostil apostille | a marginal note. [Fr. apostille]. |
| appartement | a set of rooms in a house for an individual or a family. |
| appel | in fencing, a stamp of the foot in a false attack, in order to create an opening for a hit. |
| applique | a work applied to, or laid on, another material, either of metalwork or lace etc. |
| apport | in psychical research, the supposed transport of material objects without material agency. |
| appui appuy | support; (verb) to support militarily. |
| apres | after. |
| apropos | to the purpose; in reference to. |
| aquarelle | a method of painting in transparent water-color; such painting. |
| arbitrageur | one who makes profit by dealing on the stock exchange. |
| arete | a narrow, saw-toothed mountain ridge developed by glacier erosion in adjacent cirques. |
| argand | a gas or oil lamp. [From A. Argand (1755—1803), French physicist]. |
| argot | an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group. |
| arkose | a sedimentary rock formed by the cementation of sand-sized grains of feldspar and quartz. |
| armagnac | a kind of brandy distilled in SW France. |
| armet | a kind of light helmet, replacing the BASSINET. |
| armoire | a large decorative wardrobe or chest. |
| armure | a type of fabric with a pebbled surface. |
| arpen arpent | an old French land measure, slightly smaller than an acre. |
| arquebusade | a lotion for shot-wounds. |
| arret | a decision; the judgment of a tribunal. |
| arriere | in the rear, backward. |
| arrondissement | the largest subdivision of a French department. |
| artiste | a performing artist; a professional singer, dancer, actor, etc. |
| ascendeur | a metal grip that is threaded on a rope as a climbing aid. |
| aspersoir | an ASPERGILL, a brush-like implement used to sprinkle holy water. |
| assemblage | the collection of minerals that characterize a rock or a facies. |
| assez | as part of a musical direction, fairly. |
| assignat | one of the notes, bills, or bonds, issued as currency by the revolutionary government of France (1790-1796), and based on the security of the lands of the church and of nobles which had been appropriated by the state. |
| atelier | an artist's studio or workshop. |
| attache | a junior member of an ambassador's staff. |
| attentat | something wrongfully done by a judge in a proceeding, pending an appeal. |
| aubade | a song or poem greeting the dawn or about lovers parting at dawn. |
| auberge | an inn. |
| aubergine | an eggplant. |
| aubergiste | an innkeeper. |
| august auguste | a circus clown of the white-faced, bungling type. |
| aune | an ell; a French measure of cloth. |
| auteur | a film director, especially when thought of as the creator of a particular genre and carrying a personal stamp. |
| autocade | a motorcade. |
| autoclave | a kind of French stewpan with a steam-tight lid. |
| autocritique | self-criticism, esp. political. |
| avenir | the future. |
| aviette | an aeroplane driven by manpower, a kind of glider. |
| avion | an aeroplane. |
| avodire | an African tree. The e has an accent. |
| avoirdupois | a system of weights in which the pound (lb.) has 16 ounces. |
| avoyer | a chief magistrate of a free imperial city or canton of Switzerland. |
| babiche | a thong or lace made of rawhide. |
| baccara baccarat | a French card game. |
| badinage | a playful repartee; banter; (verb) to banter. |
| badinerie | a name given in the 18th century to a type of quick, light movement in a suite. |
| bagarre | a scuffle or brawl. |
| bagass bagasse | dry residue, especially of sugar cane and beet after extraction of juice, and plants after removal of fibre. |
| bagatelle | a trifle, a thing of no value or importance; a negligible amount. |
| bagnette | a long French loaf. Also BAGUET, BAGUETTE. |
| baguet baguette | a long French loaf. |
| bahut | an ornamental, usu. round-topped chest or cabinet. |
| baignoire | a theatre box on a level with the stalls. |
| bailli | a magistrate. |
| bailliage | jurisdiction. |
| baisemain | a kiss on the hand. |
| baladin balladin | a (male) theatrical dancer. |
| baladine balladine | a (female) theatrical dancer. |
| ballade | a poetic form, originally for singing. |
| ballon | in dancing, a bounciness of step. |
| ballonne | a ballet jump. |
| balzarine | a light cotton dress material. |
| banc | the judge's bench. |
| bandeau | a narrow band or fillet; a part of a head-dress > BANDEAUS or BANDEAUX. |
| bandelet | a small flat moulding around a column. |
| banderol banderole | a small banner or streamer. Also BANDROL, BANNEROL, BANNERALL. |
| bandoline | a glutinous pomatum for the hair. |
| banlieue | the territory outside the walls, but within the legal limits, of a town or city. |
| banquette | a raised way or footway above a parapet. |
| baracan barracan | a thick, strong stuff, somewhat like CAMLET; -- still used for outer garments in the Levant. |
| barachois | a shallow lagoon formed by a sandbar > BARACHOIS. |
| baragouin | any jargon or unintelligible language. |
| barbastel barbastelle | a long-eared species of bat with hairy lips. |
| barbe | a piece of vertically pleated linen cloth worn over or under the chin, as by nuns. |
| barbet | a variety of small dog, having long curly hair; a tropical bird. |
| barbette | an earthen terrace inside the parapet of a rampart. |
| barbotine | a paste of clay used in decorating coarse pottery in relief. |
| barcarole | a gondolier's song. |
| barege | a gauzelike fabric for ladies' dresses, veils, etc. of worsted, silk and worsted, or cotton and worsted. [From Barèges in Hautes-Pyrénées].]. |
| baregine | a gelatinous mass of bacteria and sulphur found in mineral waters. [From Barèges in Hautes-Pyrénées]. |
| baronne | a baroness. |
| baroque | a bold, vigorous, exuberant artistic style. Also BAROCK, BAROCCO. |
| barquette | a small barque. |
| barre | a horizontal rail used by dancers. |
| barret | a kind of cap formerly worn by soldiers. Also, the flat cap worn by Roman Catholic ecclesiastics. |
| barrette | a bar-shaped hair-clip or hair ornament. |
| barricade | a temporary defensive barrier; (verb) to block, to enclose with a barricade. |
| barrulet | a narrow heraldic bar, one quarter the width of a bar. |
| bascule | an apparatus of which one end rises as the other sinks. |
| basoche | a mediaeval guild of clerks of the parliament of Paris, performers of mystery plays. |
| basque | a short-skirted jacket, or a continuation of a bodice a little below the waist. |
| basquine | an outer petticoat worn by Basque and Spanish women. |
| bassinet basinet basnet | a light, conical helmet. |
| bastide | a French country-house. |
| bastille | a prison; (caps.) the French prison-cum-fortress stormed by the mob in the French Revolution. |
| bastinade | to beat with a stick or baton, especially on the feet. |
| bateau batteau | a boat; esp. a flat-bottomed, clumsy boat used on the Canadian lakes and rivers > BATEAUX, BATTEAUX. |
| bateleur | a kind of eagle. |
| battement | a movement in ballet , in which one leg is extended to the rear, side and front. |
| batterie | a ballet movement. |
| battu | pertaining to a type of ballet movement. |
| battue | indiscriminate slaughter; the driving of game towards slaughter. |
| bavardage | small talk or chitchat; idle chatter. |
| bayadeer bayadere | a fabric with horizontal stripes in strongly contrasting colours. |
| bearnaise | a rich white sauce flavoured with tarragon. |
| beau | a man who takes great care to dress in the latest fashion; a dandy > BEAUS or BEAUX. |
| beaucoup | many or much, used as slang. |
| becasse | a woodcock. |
| bechamel | a rich, white sauce, prepared with butter and cream. |
| becquerel | the SI unit of radioactivity. [From A. H. Becquerel (1852—1908), French physicist, discoverer of radioactivity]. |
| bedeguar | a soft spongy gall formed on the branches of sweet-brier and other roses. |
| beghard beguin | in Flanders, a man living a monastic life without vows and with power to return to the world, aka BEGHARD. |
| beguinage | a collection of small houses surrounded by a wall and occupied by a community of Beguines. |
| beguine | a kind of dance. |
| beige | a woollen fabric of undyed wool. |
| beignet | a fritter, a deep-fried ball of choux pastry. |
| belle | a young lady of superior beauty and attractions; a handsome lady, or one who attracts notice in society; a fair lady. |
| benitier | a holy-water stoup. |
| berbere | a hot-tasting Ethiopian paste made from garlic, cayenne pepper etc and often used in stews. |
| berceau | a cradle, a covered walk > BERCEAUX. |
| berceuse | a lullaby. |
| berdache berdash | an American Indian transvestite, adopting, dress, status and role of the opposite sex. [Fr. bardache, male homosexual]. |
| bergamot | a tree of the Orange family, having a roundish or pear-shaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odour is extracted, much prized as a perfume. Also, the fruit. |
| bergere | a type of easy chair or sofa with cane back and arms. |
| bertillonage | a system of criminal identification by detailed measurements, worked out by Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914), a Paris police officer. |
| besoin | need, want, desire. |
| betise | stupidity, a stupid act. |
| beton | the French name for concrete; hence, concrete made after the French fashion. |
| beurre | a kind of pear, one with the meat soft and melting. |
| bevue | a blunder, an inadvertent error. |
| bezique | a card game played with two decks of cards. |
| bibelot | a small household ornament or decorative object, a knickknack. Can also refer specifically to a miniature book of elegant design (Tiffany and Faberge made them). |
| bidet | a shallow oval basin used for washing esp. the genital and anal regions. |
| bidon | a container for liquids. |
| bidonville | a shanty town with dwellings made from oil-drums. |
| bigarade | a bitter Seville orange. |
| bijou | a trinket; a jewel; -- a word applied to anything small and of elegant workmanship > BIJOUS or BIJOUX. |
| bijouterie | jewellery, esp. trinkets. |
| billon | base metal, an alloy of copper, tin or silver. |
| binocle | a dioptric telescope, fitted with two tubes joining, so as to enable a person to view an object with both eyes at once; a double-barrelled field glass or an opera glass. |
| bis | twice. |
| bise bize | a cold dry northerly wind, mainly prevalent in spring, that occurs in and near Switzerland. |
| bisque | a point allowed to a tennis player; a stroke(s) allowed to golfer; an extra turn allowed to croquet player; a kind of rich thick soup; pottery fired but not glazed. |
| bivouac | (verb) to remain in the open air (esp. during the night) without tents etc. |
| bizarrerie | something bizarre. |
| blague | humbug; pretentious nonsense. |
| blagueur | one who talks BLAGUE, talks humbug. |
| blanchisseuse | a laundress. |
| blancmange | an opaque jelly made with isinglass or gelatin and milk or (now usu.) cornflour and milk, often flavoured and sweetened. |
| blanquet | a kind of pear. |
| blanquette | a stew based on lamb, chicken and veal. |
| blase | having the sensibilities deadened by excess or frequency of enjoyment; sated or surfeited with pleasure; used up. |
| bleuatre | bluish. |
| bloc | a combination of States, parties, groups, or people, formed to promote a particular interest. |
| blouson | a loose outer garment gathered into a waistband. |
| bluet | any of various blue-flowered plants; esp. the cornflower. |
| bluette | a spark, a flash; a short playful piece of music. |
| bocage | a decorative representation of trees, leaves, etc. |
| boeuf | as in boeuf bourguignon, a casserole of beef, herbs etc cooked in red wine. No —S. |
| boiserie | wood panelling on a wall. |
| boite | a night-club. |
| bombardier | in the British army, a non-commissioned officer in the artillery. |
| bombasine bombazine | a twilled silk and worsted fabric. |
| bombe | a dessert, usu. ice-cream in a melon shape. |
| bon | good. |
| bonbon | a sweet. |
| bonbonniere | a fancy box for holding sweets. |
| bongrace | a projecting bonnet or shade to protect the complexion; also, a wide-brimmed hat. |
| bonhomie bonhommie | good nature; pleasant and easy manner. |
| boniface | the proprietor of a hotel, nightclub or restaurant: innkeeper. |
| bonjour | good day. |
| bonne | a French maid or nursemaid. |
| bonsoir | good evening. |
| bordeaux | a red or white wine. |
| bordereau | a detailed bill or invoice > BORDEREAUX. |
| bottine | a small boot; a surgical boot for correcting deformity. |
| bouche | the staff of cooks in a large house. |
| bouchee | a small patty. |
| boucle | a kind of rough-textured yarn or cloth. |
| bouclee | a support for a cue in billiards. |
| bouderie | a pouting, sulking. |
| boudin | a black pudding. |
| boudoir | a lady's private room. |
| bouffant | a kind of hairdo. |
| bouffe | a comic opera. |
| bougie | a wax candle; a flexible medical instrument for insertion into body passages. |
| bouillabaisse | a kind of fish soup. |
| bouilli | boiled meat. |
| bouillon | a nutritious liquid food made by boiling beef, or other meat, in water; a clear soup or broth. |
| bouillotte | a card game resembling poker. |
| boulevard | a broad street (esp. in France) with rows of trees planted along it. |
| boulevardier | a person who frequents (French) boulevards. |
| bouleversement | an overturning; reversal; ruin. |
| boulle | a form of marquetry with e.g. gold and silver inlaid in tortoiseshell, same as BUHL. [From Charles Andre Boulle]. |
| bouquet | a bunch of flowers. |
| bouquetiere | a flower-girl. |
| bourasque | a tempest. |
| bourdon | the drone bass of a bagpipe or organ. |
| bourg | a town beside a castle, a market-town. |
| bourgeois | a member of the BOURGEOISIE, the middle classes |
| bourgeoise | a female BOURGEOIS. |
| bourgeoisie | the middle classes. |
| bourguignon | of meat dishes, stewed with onions, mushrooms and Burgundy wine. [Fr. 'from Burgundy']. |
| bourree | an old French dance tune in common time. |
| bourride | a fish dish from Provence. |
| bourse | a commercial exchange, specif: a European stock exchange. |
| boursier | a foundation-scholar; a speculator on the Stock Exchange. |
| boursin | a type of cheese. |
| boutade | a sudden outburst or outbreak. |
| boutique | a shop, or department in a store, selling (esp. fashionable) clothes or accessories. |
| bouton | an enlargement of the end of a nerve-fibre. |
| boutonne | reserved, reticent. |
| boutonniere | a buttonhole. |
| bouvier | a kind of large dog. |
| boyau | a communication trench > BOYAUX. [Fr. boyau, bowel]. |
| bradoon bridoon | a light military bridle. |
| brancard | a horse-litter. |
| brandade | a Provencal dish made with salt fish, olive oil, garlic and cream. |
| branle bransle brantle | an old French dance or dance-tune. |
| brassage | a mint-charge to cover the cost of coining money. |
| brasserie | a restaurant serving alcoholic beverages, especially beer, as well as food. |
| brassiere | a woman's undergarment worn to support the breasts. |
| breloque | an ornament attached to a watch. |
| breton | a kind of hat with a rounded crown and turned up brim. |
| brevete | patented |
| briard | a kind of rugged French dog. |
| bricabrac | old curiosities, knick-knacks. |
| bricolage | a construction using whatever comes to hand. |
| bricole | a shot in billiards, involving a rebound; a mediaeval military catapult. |
| brigue | to intrigue. |
| brioche | a kind of soft roll, made with eggs, butter, flour and yeast. |
| briolette | a pear-shaped gem. |
| briquet briquette | a brick-shaped block made of compressed coal-dust. |
| brisance | the shattering or crushing effect of an explosion. |
| brisant | explosive, shattering. |
| brise | a movement in dancing. |
| brisure | a part of a parapet breaking from the general direction. |
| brocade | a rich silk fabric with raised patterns; (verb) to weave with a raised design. |
| brocard | an elementary legal principle or maxim. [Fr., or med.L brocardus, appellative use of the Latinized form of Burchart, 11th-cent. bishop of Worms and compiler of volumes of ecclesiastical rules.] |
| brocatel brocatelle | a kind of coarse brocade, or figured fabric, used chiefly for tapestry, linings for carriages, etc. |
| broche | woven with a figure; as, broche goods; (noun) such a fabric. |
| brochette | a skewer for holding food steady while cooking. |
| brodekin brodkin | a BUSKIN or half-boot. |
| brouhaha bruhaha | a fuss, clamour. |
| bruit | something rumoured widely; (verb) to report or spread rumour. |
| brule | in cooking, lightly burnt. |
| brulot | a biting fly. |
| brunet brunette | brown-haired. |
| brusquerie | a demonstration of BRUSQUENESS. |
| brut | of wines, unsweetened, dry. |
| bureau | a writing-desk with drawers for papers etc > BUREAUS or BUREAUX. |
| buret burette | an apparatus for delivering measured quantities of liquid or for measuring the quantity of liquid or gas received or discharged. |
| burganet burgonet | a visored helmet that can be fitted or attached to the gorget or neck-piece. Also, a pikeman's light steel cap. |
| burlesque burlesk | a ludicrous imitation. |
| bustier | a strapless long-line brassiere. |
| butte | a narrow flat-topped hill of resistant rock with very steep sides. |
| buvette | a small refreshment bar at the roadside. |
| caba cabas | a woman's work-basket. |
| cabernet | a type of black grape used to produce a dry red wine. |
| cabochon | a precious stone polished but uncut, or cut rounded on the top but flat on the back. |
| cabotage | shipping and sailing between points in the same country. |
| cabre | rearing up. (The e has an accent). |
| cabriole | a curved furniture leg ending in a ball; an exuberant dance or caper. |
| cabriolet | a kind of two-wheeled carriage. |
| cachalot cacholot | a sperm whale. |
| cachepot | an ornamental container used to conceal a flowerpot. |
| cachet | a seal of approval; a mark of prestige; (verb) to print a design on an envelope. |
| cacholong | an opaque or milk-white chalcedony, a variety of quartz; also, a similar variety of opal. [Fr. f. Mongolian kas chilagun precious stone]. |
| cacolet | a military mule litter. |
| cadeau | a present. |
| cadelle | a small black beetle. [Fr., from L. catellus, little dog]. |
| cadrans | an instrument by which a gem is adjusted while being cut > CADRANSES. |
| cadre | a permanent establishment of trained personnel forming a nucleus for expansion at need. |
| cafard | severe depression or apathy; also, idiomatically, the blues. |
| cafetiere | a type of coffee-maker. |
| cagot | one of an outcast class found in the Pyrenees, supposed to be the descendants of lepers. |
| cagoul cagoule | a lightweight, weatherproof anorak. Also KAGOOL, KAGOUL, KAGOULE. |
| cahier | a number of sheets of paper put loosely together; esp. one of the successive portions of a work printed in numbers. |
| caille | in cooking, a quail. |
| caique | a light skiff used on the Bosphorus. |
| cajun | a descendant of the French-speaking Acadians deported to Louisiana in 1755. |
| calash caleche calesa | a light low-wheeled carriage with folding top. |
| calembour | a pun. |
| calenture | sunstroke, or other fever or delirium due to heat. |
| calotte | a Roman Catholic skullcap. |
| caloyer | a monk of the Greek Church; a cenobite, anchoret, or recluse of the rule of St. Basil, especially, one on or near Mt. Athos. |
| calvados | a French apple brandy. |
| camaieu | a cameo > CAMAIEUX. |
| camaraderie | friendship. |
| camion | a flat, low, four-wheeled truck or dray. |
| camisole | a loose underbodice with thin shoulder straps instead of sleeves. |
| camouflet | a mine used to destroy underground enemy emplacement. [Fr. camouflet, a whiff of smoke intentionally blown in the face, an affront]. |
| camoufleur | a person or animal skilled in the art of camouflage. |
| canaille | riffraff; the mob; rabble. |
| canape | a small savoury biscuit. |
| canard | a false or unfounded report or story. |
| cancan | a French dance. |
| cannelure | a groove or fluting, esp. around a bullet etc. |
| capelin caplin capelan | a small marine fish, very abundant on the coasts of Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Alaska, used as a bait for the cod. |
| capellet | a cyst-like swelling on a horse's hock. |
| caponier caponiere | a work made across or in the ditch, to protect it from the enemy, or to serve as a covered passageway. |
| caporal | a coarse, strong, dark tobacco. |
| capote | a long cloak or overcoat, especially one with a hood. |
| capriole | a leap and kick performed by a trained horse; (verb) to make such a kick. |
| caracol caracole | a half turn by a trained horse; a caper; (verb) to make such turn. |
| carafe | a glass bottle for water or wine at a table, in a bedroom, etc. |
| carcel | a French mechanical lamp, for lighthouses, in which a superabundance of oil is pumped to the wick tube by clockwork. [From Carcel, its French inventor]. |
| cardecu cardecue | an old French silver coin. [Fr. quart d'ecu]. |
| careme | Lent. |
| carillon | a chime of bells diatonically tuned, played by clockwork or by finger keys. [LL. quaternion, via Old French quarregnon (by fours) with reference to the fact that the original carillon consisted of four bells hung in the tower of a church.] |
| carillonneur | one who plays the CARILLON. |
| cariole carriole | a small open carriage. |
| carmagnole | a popular song and round dance of the French Revolutionary period. |
| carnet | a customs or other permit; a book of coupons. |
| carombole | a cannon in billiards; (verb) to make a cannon in billiards. |
| carousel carrousel | a merry-go-round; a circular magazine for a slide projector |
| carrefour | a crossroads, a plaza. |
| carte | a bill of fare. |
| cartel | a manufacturers' agreement or association formed to control marketing arrangements, regulate prices, etc. |
| cartonnage | papyrus or linen soaked in plaster, shaped around a body; used for mummy masks and coffins. |
| cartouch cartouche | a roll or case of paper, etc., holding a charge for a firearm; a cartridge; in Egyptian inscriptions, a circle with a horizontal bar at the bottom, elongated into an oval within which king's names are written. |
| casern caserne | a barrack or billet for soldiers. |
| casque | a helmet. |
| cassis | a blackcurrant liqueur. |
| cassolette | a small dish used for presenting hors d'oeuvres etc. |
| cassonade | unrefined cane-sugar (imported in casks). |
| cassoulet | a French stew consisting of haricot beans, onions, herbs etc. |
| castanet | a musical instrument. |
| catafalque | a temporary tomb used in funerals and processions. |
| cauchemar | a nightmare. |
| causerie | a light and informal conversation; a brief, conversational essay. |
| cavesson | a noseband for a horse. |
| ceinture | a belt for the waist. |
| celesta | a musical instrument, a keyboard with bell-like tones. |
| celeste | (noun) a soft pedal on a piano. |
| cendre | ash-blond (the e has an accent). |
| centime | one hundredth of a FRANC. |
| cepage | a variety of grape, or the wine made from it. |
| cerise | a colour, deep to vivid purplish-red. |
| cervelas cervelat | a type of French sausage, seasoned with garlic. |
| chablis | a white wine made near Chablis, a town in France. |
| chaconne | a Spanish baroque dance in triple time. |
| chagrin | annoyance; vexation; (verb) to disappoint deeply; to annoy > CHAGRINS, CHAGRINING or CHAGRINNING, CHAGRINED or CHAGRINNED. |
| chaine | in ballet, a series of small fast turns used to cross a stage. |
| chaise | a light open carriage for one or two people. |
| chalumeau | an early rustic reed instrument that developed into the clarinet > CHALUMEAUX. |
| chamade | a signal made for a parley by beat of a drum. |
| chambranle | decoration around a door frame or fireplace. |
| chambre | of wine, at room temperature (the e has an accent). |
| chamois shamois | a deerlike animal found in the Alps; (verb) to prepare leather like chamois. |
| champignon | an edible species of mushroom. |
| champleve | a type of enamel work in which vitreous powders are laid in channels cut in a metal base. The e has an accent. |
| chancre | a venereal sore or ulcer; specifically, the initial lesion of true syphilis. |
| chandelle | an abrupt, climbing turn of an airplane; (verb) to perform this manoeuvre. |
| chanson | a song. |
| chansonette | a little song, a ditty. |
| chantage | blackmail to prevent exposure of scandalous facts. |
| chantarelle chanterelle | a kind of fungus. |
| chanteuse | a female nightclub singer. |
| chantilly | as in chantilly lace, a type of ornamental lace. No —S. |
| chapeau | a hat > CHAPEAUS or CHAPEAUX. |
| chaperon chaperone | a person who ensures propriety, esp. a married or older woman accompanying a young unmarried woman on social occasions; (verb) to act as a chaperone. |
| chapitre | the capital of a column. [Fr. chapitre]. |
| charabanc | a sightseeing motor couch. |
| charade | a written or (now usu.) acted clue from which a syllable of a word or a complete word is to be guessed. |
| charcuterie | (a shop selling) cold meats made from pork. |
| charlotte | a kind of pie or pudding made by lining a dish with slices of bread, and filling it with bread soaked in milk, and baked. |
| charmeuse | a soft satiny material. |
| charpie | shredded lint used to dress wounds. |
| chartreuse | a light, yellowish green; an aromatic, usually yellow or green liqueur. [From La Grande Chartreuse, the name of the Carthusian monastery near Chartreuse in Grenoble where this liqueur was made]. |
| chasse | a movement in dancing, as across or to the right or left; (verb) to make such a movement. |
| chassepot | a kind of breechloading, center-fire rifle, or improved needle gun. |
| chasseur | a hunter; a liveried hotel attendant. |
| chassis | the structural framework of a motor car to which the movable working parts and body may be attached > CHASSIS. |
| chateau | a castle > CHATEAUS or CHATEAUX. |
| chatelain | the governor of castle or fortification. Also CASTELLAN. |
| chatelaine | a female CHATELAIN, a castle owner, manager or caretaker. |
| chaton | the setting or stone of a finger-ring. |
| chatoyant | (of) iridescent undulating lustre. |
| chauffeur | one who drives car for another. |
| chauffeuse | a female CHAUFFEUR. |
| chaussure | a foot covering of any kind. |
| chauvin | one with excessive pride in his own country. [From Nicolas Chauvin, an ardent veteran of Napoleon's]. |
| chechia | a cylindrical skullcap, worn by Arabs and adopted by French troops in N. Africa. [Fr. chechia f. Maghribi pronunc. of Arab. sasiyya, f. Arab. Tashkent in Uzbekistan.] |
| chemise | a garment for the upper body; esp. a woman's loose-fitting undergarment or dress hanging straight from the shoulders. |
| chemisette | an under-garment, worn by women, usually covering the neck, shoulders, and breast. |
| chenet | an ANDIRON. |
| chenille | a velvety silk, wool or cotton fabric with protruding pile. |
| cher | dear. |
| chere | dear (feminine). |
| chevalet | the bridge of a stringed instrument. |
| chevalier | a cavalier, a knight. |
| chevet | the east end of (especially French Gothic) church or chancel. |
| cheville | an unnecessary word added to round off a sentence or complete a line of verse. |
| chevre | a cheese made from goat's milk. |
| chevrette | a kind of thin kid leather; a machine for raising guns or mortars into their carriages. |
| chevron | to provide with chevrons or things arranged in a chevron pattern; make with a chevron pattern. |
| chevrotain | a small deer-like mammal. |
| chez | at the home of. |
| chicane | to quibble, to use tricks and artifices. |
| chiffon | a sheer silk fabric. |
| chiffonade | green plants cooked in butter, esp. a mixture of lettuce and sorrel. |
| chiffonier chiffonnier | a chest of drawers. |
| chignon | a knot or roll of hair worn at the back of the head. |
| chimere chimar chimer | a loose sleeveless robe worn by Anglican bishops. |
| chinoiserie | decoration, furniture etc. imitating Chinese design. |
| chose | a thing. |
| chou | a cabbage; an ornamental soft rosette; a cream bun > CHOUX. |
| choucroute | pickled cabbage. |
| chut | an expression of impatience. |
| chypre | a mixture of resins used in making perfume. [Fr. = Cyprus, where perh. orig. made]. |
| cimier | the crest of a helmet. |
| cineast cineaste | one who takes an artistic interest in motion pictures. |
| cinquain | a group of five, especially a five-line stanza. |
| cinque | five; the number five in dice or cards. |
| cire | a fabric with a waxed finish (the e is accented). |
| cirque | a deep round hollow formed by glaciation. |
| ciseleur | a chaser (of metal). |
| ciselure | the art of chasing metal. |
| clafouti+ clafoutis | a French baked pudding. |
| clairvoyant | having or exercising the faculty of clairvoyance; pertaining to clairvoyance. |
| claque | a group hired to applaud at a performance; a group of sycophants. |
| claqueur | one of the claque employed to applaud at a theater. |
| clavecin | the harpsichord. |
| clementine | a type of orange; a hybrid of orange and tangerine. |
| cliché | a hackneyed expression, a stereotype. |
| clientele | a body of clients, a following; the customers (of a shop); the patrons (of a theatre etc.). |
| clinique | a clinic. |
| clinquant | glittering, of gold or tinsel; (noun) imitation gold leaf; (fig.) literary or artistic tinsel; false glitter. |
| clochard | a beggar; a vagrant. [Fr. clocher, to limp, from L. clopus, lame.] |
| cloche | a cover for tender plants. |
| cloison | a partition; a dividing band. |
| cloisonne | inlaid between partitions: -- said of enamel when the lines which divide the different patches of fields are composed of a kind of metal wire secured to the ground; cf. CHAMPLEVE enamel, in which the ground is engraved or scooped out. |
| cloque | a fabric with an embossed design. |
| cloture | a means of ending a legislative debate; (verb) to close a parliamentary debate. |
| clou | the main point of interest; a dominant idea > CLOUS. |
| cocotte | a prostitute; a flirt or tease. |
| codille | a term at the card game OMBER, signifying that the game is won. |
| coffret | a small coffer; a presentation box. |
| cognac | a kind of brandy. |
| coiffeur | a hairdresser. |
| coiffeuse | a (female) hairdresser. |
| coiffure | a headdress, or manner of dressing the hair; (verb) to dress the hair. |
| cointreau | a colourless liqueur with orange flavouring > COINTREAUS. |
| collage | (verb) to arrange materials in a collage. |
| collarette | a small collar. |
| colloque | to hold a COLLOQUY. |
| cologne | a perfumed liquid, composed of alcohol and certain aromatic oils, used in the toilet; aka cologne water and eau de cologne. |
| colportage | the distribution of religious books, tracts, etc., by COLPORTEURS. |
| colporteur | a peddler of religious books. |
| comble | the acme. |
| comice | a variety of pear. |
| comique | a comic actor or singer. |
| commere | a female compere. |
| commis | a deputy, a clerk; a junior waiter or chef. |
| commode | a chamber-pot enclosed in a chair or box with a cover. |
| communard | a member of a commune; a communist. |
| commune | a French territorial division, the smallest for administrative purposes; a similar division elsewhere. |
| communique | an official communication; esp. an official statement reporting on a meeting, conference; etc. |
| compere | a person in a cabaret act, radio or television show, etc., who introduces the performers, comments on the turns, etc; (verb) to act as a compere to. |
| compot compote | a preparation of fruit in syrup in such a manner as to preserve its form, either whole, halved, or quartered; as, a compote of pears. |
| compotier | a dish, usually with a stemmed base, for serving dessert. |
| comte | a French nobleman. |
| concierge | one who keeps the entrance to an edifice, public or private; a doorkeeper; a janitor, male or female. |
| concordat | an agreement between the pope and a secular government. |
| concours | a competition, a contest. |
| conferencier | a lecturer, a public speaker; a (leading) member of a conference. |
| confidant | a (male) person entrusted with knowledge of one's private affairs (orig. esp. one's love affairs) or thoughts. |
| confidante | a (female) person entrusted with knowledge of one's private affairs (orig. esp. one's love affairs) or thoughts. |
| confiserie | a confectionery. |
| confiseur | a confectioner. |
| confrere | a fellow member of a fraternity; an intimate associate. |
| confrerie | a brotherhood. |
| conge congee | a bow, a dismissal; (verb) to take one's leave. |
| connoisseur | one who appreciates fine things e.g. wines, the arts. |
| conseil | advice, council. |
| conservatoire | a school of music. |
| consomme | a clear soup or BOUILLON boiled down so as to be very rich. |
| conte | a short story (as a literary genre). |
| contrat | a contract, an agreement. |
| contrecoup | a concussion or shock produced by a blow or other injury, in a part or region opposite to that at which the blow is received, often causing rupture or disorganisation of the parts affected. |
| contredanse | a folk dance in which two lines of couples face each other. |
| contretemps | an embarrassing occurrence; a mishap. |
| controle | registered, hallmarked (the e has an accent). |
| convenance | that which is suitable, agreeable, or convenient. |
| copataine | a sugar-loaf hat. |
| coquelicot | brilliant red; poppy red. |
| coquet coquette | to flirt, to dally. |
| corbeau | a blackish-green colour. |
| corbeil | a basket filled with earth used as a missile. |
| corbeille | a basket of flowers. |
| cordelle | a rope esp. on a ship. |
| cornemuse | a French mouth blown bagpipe with chanter and small drone in one stock, and a separate large drone. |
| corniche | a coastal road, especially one running along a cliff face. |
| cornichon | a small gherkin. |
| corsetiere | a (female) corset maker. |
| cortege | a train of attendants; a procession. |
| corvee | an obligation to perform certain services, as the repair of roads, for the lord or sovereign. |
| corvette | a highly manoeuvrable armed escort ship. |
| coryphee | a leading dancer of a corps de ballet. |
| coteau | uplands; higher ground of a region > COTEAUX. |
| cotelette | a cutlet, a chop. |
| coterie | a social or literary circle. |
| cotillion cotillon | an elaborate ballroom dance with frequent changes of partner. |
| cotise cottise | in heraldry, an ordinary, one quarter of a bend in breadth; (verb) to border with cotises. |
| coucal | a large, Old World, ground cuckoo of the genus Centropus, of several species. [Fr., said to be f. couc(ou cuckoo + al(ouette lark]. |
| couche | not erect; inclined; -- said of anything that is usually erect, as an escutcheon. |
| couchee | an evening reception. |
| couchette | a sleeping-berth on a continental train. |
| coude | (of a reflecting telescope) in which one or more plane mirrors reflects the light down the polar axis. (The e has an accent). |
| coulee | a stream. |
| coulis | a thin puree of fish, fowl, fruit or vegetables > COULISES. |
| coulisse | a piece of timber having a groove in which something glides. |
| couloir | a deep Alpine gorge. |
| coulomb | the SI unit of electric charge. [From C. A. de Coulomb (1736—1806), French physicist]. |
| coupe | a four-wheeled closed horse-drawn carriage. |
| coupee | a salute to one's partner in dancing. |
| coupure | a passage cut through a glacis to facilitate sallies by the besieged. |
| courant courante | an old dance with a gliding step. (Also CORANTO, COURANTO). |
| courbette | curvet. |
| courgette | a small variety of vegetable marrow, aka ZUCCHINI. |
| couteau | a knife; a dagger > COUTEAUX. |
| coutil coutille | a strong cotton fabric used in mattresses etc. |
| couture | dressmaking; (the design and making of) fashionable garments, esp. French ones. |
| couturiere | a (female) dressmaker or dress designer. |
| couturiere | a (male) dressmaker or dress designer. |
| couvade | a custom among some peoples, whereby the husband of a woman giving birth simulates pregnancy and labour. |
| couvert | a cover (at table). |
| crapaud | a frog or toad. |
| craquelure | fine cracking that appears in old paintings. |
| cravat | a scarf or band worn as necktie. [Fr. cravate, from Cravates, 17th century Croatian mercenaries who wore a scarf in battle]. |
| creche | a nursery. |
| cremaillere | a zigzag line of fortification. |
| creme | cream. |
| crenel crenelle | a crenellation. |
| crepe | light crinkled fabric; (verb) to cover with this. |
| creperie | a restaurant specialising in pancakes. |
| cretonne | a heavy cotton or linen cloth. |
| cretons | a spread of shredded pork cooked with onions in pork fat. |
| crevette | a shrimp or prawn. |
| criant | garish; discordantly coloured. |
| crible | punctured like a sieve, dotted. (The e has an accent). |
| crinolette | a small CRINOLINE causing the dress to project behind only. |
| crinoline | a stiff fabric made of horsehair and cotton or linen thread, used for linings, hats, etc., and formerly for skirts and to expand a petticoat. |
| critique | a criticism; esp. a critical analysis, article, or essay. |
| croche | a knob at the top of a deer's horn. |
| croissant | a crescent-shaped roll. |
| crokinole | a board game popular in Canada in which players flick wooden discs. |
| croquante | a crisp pie or tart. |
| croquette | a ball or cylindrical cake of minced meat, potatoes etc. |
| croquis | an outline or rough sketch > CROQUIS. |
| crosse | the stick with which lacrosse is played. |
| crossette | a small projecting part of an impost-stone at the extremity of an arch. |
| croupade | in dressage, a leap in which the horse draws its hind legs up towards its belly. |
| croupier | an attendant who collects and pays bets. |
| croustade | a case of fried bread or pastry for serving game. |
| croute | a slice of fried bread served as an entree. |
| crouton | a small cube of fried bread, used in soup or salads. |
| cru | (the grade or quality of wine produced in) a French vineyard or wine-producing region > CRUS. |
| crudites | raw fruit and vegetables served as hors d'oeuvre. |
| crypton krypton | an element, an inert gas. [Gk. cryptein, to hide]. |
| cuirassier | a soldier who wears a CUIRASS. |
| cuisine | cooking. |
| culet | the flat back or base of a gemstone. |
| culotte | a divided skirt. |
| cunette | an fortifications, a trench sunk along the middle of a dry ditch or moat, serving as a drain, a CUVETTE. |
| curettage | the act of using a CURETTE. |
| curette | an instrument for scraping sides of body cavities; (verb) to scrape with a CURETTE. |
| cuvee | a vat of blended wine of uniform quality. |
| cuvette | a shallow dish for holding liquids. |
| dais | a platform. |
| dalle | a slab or tile, often decorative. |
| dancette dancettee | in heraldry, a zigzag line across a shield. |
| danseur | a professional dancer. |
| danseuse | a professional female dancer; a woman who dances at a public exhibition as in a ballet. |
| dariole | a small cylindrical mould used in cooking. |
| dartre | a herpes-like skin disease. |
| daube | a meat stew. |
| dauphin | the title of the eldest son of the king of France, and heir to the crown. |
| debacle | a great disaster; a complete failure, a fiasco. [Fr. debacle, from debacler, to unbolt or unbar]. |
| debonair debonnaire | of good appearance, elegant. |
| debouchure | the mouth of a river or strait. |
| debride | to remove the debris from a wound. |
| debridement | the surgical removal of dead, infected tissue or foreign matter from a wound. |
| debut | a beginning. |
| debutant | one making a beginning. |
| debutante | one (female) making a beginning, esp. in society. |
| decheance | forfeiture. |
| decime | a French coin, the tenth part of a franc, equal to about two cents. |
| declasse | (someone) having lost caste or social standing. |
| decolletage | the low-cut neckline of a woman's garment. |
| decollete | low-cut at the neck. |
| decor | scenery and stage embellishments; a general decorative effect. |
| decoupage | the application of paper cutouts to wood surfaces. |
| dedans | spectators at a court tennis match. |
| defi | a challenge. |
| defilade | to arrange (fortifications) so as to protect the lines from frontal or enfilading fire and the interior from fire from above or behind. |
| degage | unconstrained, easy; uninvolved. |
| degout | distaste. |
| degras | a fat obtained from sheepskins > DEGRAS. |
| degringolade | a rapid decline or deterioration (as in strength, position, or condition). |
| delaine | a kind of fabric for women's dresses. |
| delassement | a relaxation. |
| delice | a delight; a delicacy. |
| demarche | a course of action; a manoeuvre; a diplomatic representation or protest. |
| dementi | a contradiction, a denial; now esp. an official denial of a published statement. |
| demijohn | a large bottle having a wicker case. [Fr. Dame-Jeanne]. |
| demilune | a work constructed beyond the main ditch of a fortress, and in front of the curtain between two bastions, intended to defend the curtain; a ravelin. Cf. SEMILUNE. |
| demimondaine | a DEMIREP, a woman of doubtful reputation or suspected character; an adventuress. |
| demimonde | a class of women on the fringes of respectable society supported by wealthy lovers; a group having little reputation. |
| demitasse | (the quantity contained by) a half-cup (esp. of black coffee). |
| demode | old-fashioned. |
| demoiselle | (arch.) a young girl or unmarried woman. |
| denouement | the final outcome. |
| dentelle | lace; lacework. |
| depanneur | a convenience store in French Canada. |
| departement | an administrative department. |
| depeche | a despatch, message. |
| deracine | uprooted from one's environment; displaced geographically or socially. |
| derailleur | a type of gearing for a bicycle. |
| dernier | in phrase DERNIER CRI - 'last cry'; latest fashion; newest discovery. |
| derriere | backside. |
| desagrement | something disagreeable. |
| deshabille | an undress; a careless toilet. Cf. DISHABILLE. |
| desoeuvre | unoccupied, at a loose end. |
| desoriente | having lost one's bearings, confused. |
| detente | a relaxation of strained relations, esp. between countries. |
| detenu | a (male) prisoner, esp. a political prisoner in India. |
| detenue | a (female) prisoner, esp. a political prisoner in India. |
| detraque | a person who is deranged. |
| detraquee | a (female) person who is deranged. |
| developpe | a ballet position. |
| devoir | what is due; duty. |
| devore | of velvet or satin, having a design etched with acid. (The es have accents). |
| devot | a devotee. |
| diable | an unglazed earthenware casserole. |
| diablerie diablery | black magic; demon lore; mischievous conduct or manner. |
| diamante | a decoration on a dress consisting of glittering ornaments. The e is accented. |
| diedre | a rock angle or re-entrant corner, usu. with a crack in it. |
| difficile | difficult; hard to manage; stubborn. |
| dinanderie | a bronze-coloured metal alloy used for decorative vessels. |
| directrice | a female director. Formerly also, a governess. |
| dirigisme dirigism | state control in economic and social spheres. |
| dirigiste | relating to state control in economic and social spheres. |
| diseur | a reciter or entertainer. |
| diseuse | a female DISEUR, a reciter. |
| dishabille | an undress; a loose, negligent dress. Cf. DESHABILLE. |
| distingue | distinguished in appearance, manner, or bearing. |
| distrait distraite | distracted in mind; excessively perplexed or troubled. |
| divertissement | a diversion or entertainment. |
| dizain | a ten-line stanza or poem. |
| doctrinaire | a person who tries to apply principle without allowance for circumstance; a pedantic theorist. |
| domaine | an estate where wine is made. |
| dominique dominick | one of an American breed of chickens. |
| donne donnee | a datum, something given. |
| dore | gilded (the e has an accent). |
| dossier | a compendium of documents; the word derives from the idea of folders being labelled on the spines. |
| douane | a customhouse. |
| douanier | a Customs official. |
| doublure | an ornamental lining on the inside of book: leather or vellum. |
| doucepere douzeper | one of the twelve peers of France, companions of Charlemagne in war. |
| douceur | gentleness or sweetness; a subtly offered bribe. |
| doucine | a CYMA RECTA, an ogee moulding of the cornice. |
| dourine | a contagious disease of horses. |
| doux | of champagne, very sweet. |
| doyen | a man who is the eldest or senior member of a group or profession. |
| doyenne | a women who is the eldest or senior member of a group or profession. |
| dragee | a sugar-coated sweetmeat. |
| dragonnade | a persecution conducted by Louis XIV against French Protestants in the 1680s, in which dragoons were quartered on them; any persecution conducted with the aid of troops. |
| dressage | the training of a horse in deportment. |
| droguet | a ribbed woollen dress. |
| droit | a right; law in its aspect of the foundation of rights. |
| dubonnet | a red colour. |
| duchesse | a table-cover or centrepiece. |
| dumortierite | an orthorhombic borosilicate of aluminium occurring as small violet or blue needles or fibrous masses esp. in gneisses and schists. [From V.-E. Dumortier (1802—76). French geologist]. |
| dupion | a coarse silk. [Fr. doupion, from Ita. doppione, double]. |
| duvet | a quilt stuffed with eiderdown. |
| duxelles | a mince of mushrooms, chopped shallots and herbs simmered in butter. [From the Marquis d'Uxelles]. |
| eau | water > EAUS or EAUX. |
| ebauche | a rough draught or sketch. |
| ebeniste | a cabinetmaker. |
| eboulement | the falling in of the wall of a fortification; a landslip. |
| ebrillade | a bridle check; a jerk of one rein, given to a horse when he refuses to turn. |
| ecarte | a game at cards, played usually by two persons, in which the players may discard any or all of the cards dealt and receive others from the pack. |
| echappe | an ballet, a kind of leap. |
| echelle | an arrangement of ribbons in the form of a ladder, decorating the front of the stomacher of a dress, etc. [Fr. echelle, ladder]. |
| eclaircissement | clarification, enlightenment. |
| eclat | great brilliance, acclamation; conspicuous success. |
| ecorche | a manikin, or image, representing an animal, especially man, with the skin removed so that the muscles are exposed for purposes of study. |
| ecossaise | a dancing tune in the Scotch style. |
| ecraseur | an instrument intended to replace the knife in many operations, the parts operated on being severed by the crushing effect produced by the gradual tightening of a steel chain, so that haemorrhage rarely follows. |
| ecritoire | a writing-desk. |
| ecru | (having) the color or appearance of unbleached stuff, as silk, linen, or the like. |
| ecu | the European monetary unit. |
| ecuelle | a two-handled soup bowl. |
| ecurie | a stable. |
| effleurage | a stroking movement in massage. |
| egalite | equality. |
| egarement | confusion, bewilderment. |
| eglomise | made of glass with a picture painted on the back (acute accent on the Es). |
| elan | ardour inspired by passion or enthusiasm. |
| elance | to throw as a lance. |
| eloge | a commendation; an encomium. |
| embassade | the mission of an ambassador. |
| embonpoint | plumpness of person; stoutness. |
| embouchure | the position and use of the lips in producing a musical tone on a wind instrument. |
| embusque | in ambush; (noun) a slacker or shirker, a person who evades military service. |
| emeute | a popular rising or uproar. |
| emigre | one of the natives of France who were opposed to the first Revolution, and who left their country in consequence. |
| empennage | the tail assembly of an airplane. [Fr. empennage (feathers of an arrow), from empenner (to feather an arrow), from em- + penner, from penne (feather), from L. penna (feather).] |
| empiecement | an insertion in a garment. |
| empresse | eager, enthusiastic. |
| empressement | extreme politeness. |
| enceinte | pregnant. |
| encolure | a horse's mane. |
| encore | again. |
| endive | a salad plant of the chicory genus. |
| enfant | child, as in 'enfant terrible', anyone -- young or old -- whose behavior shocks others by e.g. a disregard for convention. |
| enfilade | a number of things arranged as if threaded on a string; (verb) to discharge or be in a position to discharge firearms along the whole length of a line. |
| engrenage | the process of preparing for effective joint action. |
| enleve | carried away, kidnapped. |
| enlevement | (Scots law) the abduction of a woman or child. |
| ennui | a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction; boredom; (verb) to bore, annoy. |
| ennuye | affected with ennui; weary in spirits; emotionally exhausted. |
| ensemble | the whole; all the parts taken together. |
| entablature | that part of a design in classical architecture which surmounts the columns and rests upon the capitals. |
| entente | understanding. |
| entete entetee | obstinate. |
| entourage | a group of people in attendance on or accompanying someone important. |
| entrechat | a ballet leap in which the dancer repeatedly crosses the legs. |
| entrecote | a steak cut from between two ribs. |
| entree | a dish served between the fish course and the main meat course; in North America, the main dish of a meal. |
| entrepot | a center of trade and transshipment. |
| entrepreneur | one who undertakes commercial ventures. |
| entrepreneuse | a female ENTREPRENEUR. |
| entresol | a low story between two higher ones, usually between the ground floor and the first story; a MEZZANINE. |
| entrez | come in. |
| envoi | the concluding part of a poem or book. |
| eolienne | a fine dress fabric of silk and wool. |
| epatant | wonderful, marvellous. |
| epaule | the shoulder of a bastion. |
| epaulet epaulette | a shoulder ornament or badge worn by military and naval officers. |
| epee | a kind of sword used in fencing. |
| eperdu | desperately in love (of a male). |
| eperdue | desperately in love (of a female). |
| epergne | a branched ornamental centrepiece. |
| epicier | a grocer. |
| epopee | epic poetry, especially as a literary genre. |
| epris | captivated or smitten. |
| eprise | captivated or smitten (of a female). |
| eprouvette | an apparatus for testing or proving the strength of gunpowder. |
| epuise | exhausted (of a male). |
| epuisee | exhausted (of a female). |
| equipe | in motor-racing and other sports, a team. |
| escabeche | pickled vegetables such as onions, carrots, jalapeno peppers and garlic, typically served with fish. |
| escadrille | a squadron of aircraft; a flotilla. |
| escalade escalado | the scaling of walls of a fortress by ladders. |
| escalier | a staircase. |
| escalop escalope | a thin slice of boneless meat or (occas.) fish; esp. a special cut of veal from the leg. |
| escamotage | juggling. |
| escargot | a snail as an article of food. |
| escarmouche | a skirmish. |
| escarole | a wavy-leafed salad plant of the ENDIVE family. |
| eschalot | an onion with garlic-flavoured bulbs, a shallot. |
| eschar | a dry slough, crust, or scab, which separates from the healthy part of the body, as that produced by a burn, or the application of caustics. |
| esclandre | unpleasant notoriety; a scandal, a scene. |
| escopette | a kind of firearm; a carbine. |
| escritoire | a writing-desk. |
| escroc | a swindler. |
| espadrille | a sandal with rope bottom and canvas top. |
| espagnole | a brown sauce flavoured with tomatoes and sherry. |
| espagnolette | the fastening of a French window. |
| espalier | a lattice on which trees are trained across. |
| esperance | (Arch.) hope, used as a war-cry. |
| espiegle | roguish, frolicsome, arch. |
| espieglerie | the quality of being ESPIEGLE, roguish, frolicsome, arch. |
| esplanade | a promenade along the shore. |
| esprit | spirit, wit. |
| esquisse | the first sketch of a picture or model of a statue. |
| estacade | a dike of stakes in a river against an enemy. |
| estafette | a mounted courier. |
| estaminet | a small cafe; a bistro. |
| estoc | a short sword. |
| estoile etoile | a six-pointed star whose rays are wavy, instead of straight like those of a mullet. |
| estrade | a low platform or dais. |
| estrapade | a horse's attempt to throw its rider. |
| etage | a floor storey. |
| etagere | a piece of furniture having a number of unenclosed shelves or stages, one above another, for receiving articles of elegance or use. |
| etalage | a display, esp. of goods in a shop window. |
| etalon | a pair of half-reflecting flat plates of glass or quartz fixed parallel to one another a small distance apart, used to produce interference patterns. |
| etamin etamine | a loosely woven open-mesh cotton or worsted fabric. |
| etape | a storehouse; a halting-place; a day's march. |
| etat | the staff of an army, including all officers above the rank of colonel, also, all adjutants, inspectors, quartermasters, commissaries, engineers, ordnance officers, paymasters, physicians, signal officers and judge advocates. |
| etatisme etatism | extreme state control over the individual. |
| etatiste | an advocate of ETATISME. |
| etiquette | the conventional rules of personal behaviour in polite society. |
| etouffee | a Cajun stew. |
| etourderie | heedlessness or stupid blundering. |
| etourdi | foolish, thoughtless. |
| etourdie | fem. of ETOURDI, foolish, thoughtless. |
| etranger | a (male) foreigner. |
| etrangere | a (female) foreigner. |
| etrenne | a New Year's gift; a Christmas-box. |
| etrier | a small rope ladder used by mountaineers. |
| etude | a composition in the fine arts which is intended, or may serve, for a study. |
| etui etwee | a small ornamental case for holding e.g. needles. |
| evenement | an event or happening; spec. a political strike. |
| evolue | (characteristic of or designating) an African who has had a European education or has adopted European ways or attitudes. |
| exemple | an example or model. |
| exergue | a space on a coin, token or medal usually on the reverse below the date. [Fr. from Greek ex out of, and ergon, work]. |
| exigeant | exacting. |
| exigeante | (feminine form of EXIGEANT) exacting. |
| externat | a day-school. |
| extrados | the exterior curve of an arch; esp. the upper curved face of the whole body of VOUSSOIRS. Cf. INTRADOS. |
| extrait | an extract. |
| fabliau | one of the metrical tales of the Trouveres, or early poets of the north of France > FABLIAUX. |
| faburden | a type of improvised polyphony, popular in England from the 15th cent. to the Reformation. |
| facade | a front. |
| faconne | a fabric with a pattern of small figures woven into it. |
| fadaise | an obvious or silly remark. |
| fadeur | dullness, inspidity. |
| faible | the part of a foil blade between the middle and the point. |
| faience fayence | a glazed material, with a base of either carved soapstone or moulded clay, with an overlay of blue/green colored glass. |
| faille | a shiny closely woven silk, cotton or rayon fabric. |
| faineance faineancy | doing nothing, being a mere puppet. |
| faineant | given to do nothing, idle, lazy; (noun) an idle person. [Fr. fainéant, alteration of fait-nient (literally, does nothing), by folk etymology from faignant, present participle of faindre (to feign).] |
| faineantise | do-nothing-ness; indisposition to do anything; indifference, inactivity. |
| falcade | a motion of a horse throwing itself on its haunches. |
| famille | a type of Chinese porcelain. |
| fanfarade | a fanfare. |
| fanfaronade | empty boasting, bluster. |
| fantasque | a fancy, a whim. |
| farandole | a lively Provençal dance in which men and women hold hands. |
| farceur | a farcer, writer of farces. |
| farceuse | a female FARCEUR, a writer of farces. |
| farci farcie | stuffed, as with ground meat |
| faubourg | a suburb of French city; also, a district now within a city, but formerly without its walls. |
| fauteuil | an enclosed seat in theatre. |
| fauve | an exponent of the art movement FAUVISM. |
| fauvette | a small singing bird, as the nightingale and warblers. |
| fauvism | a school of art noted for bold, often distorted forms and vivid colors. |
| faux | fake, as in faux naif: falsely simple or naive, feigning artlessness. |
| femme | a woman. |
| ferroniere ferronniere | a jewel held on a forehead by a chain. |
| fete | a festival. |
| feuillete | a puff pastry. |
| feuilleton | (a part of a newspaper etc. devoted to) fiction, criticism, light literature, etc.; an article or work suitable for or printed in that part. |
| fiacre | a small hackney carriage. |
| fiance | one (male) who is betrothed. |
| fiancee | one (female) who is betrothed. |
| fiche | a card or strip of film containing miniaturized data. |
| fichu | a light cape, usually of lace, worn by women, to cover the neck and throat, and extending to the shoulders. |
| figurant | a ballet dancer who dances only in groups. |
| filasse | vegetable fibre prepared for manufacture. |
| filature | (an establishment for) the reeling of silk from cocoons. |
| fille | girl. |
| filoselle | (silk thread similar to) floss silk. |
| fini | finished; ruined. |
| flacon | a small decorative flagon with a tight-fitting stopper. |
| flambe | to douse (e.g. a pancake) with a liqueur and ignite. |
| flambeau | a flaming torch > FLAMBEAUS or FLAMBEAUX. |
| flambee | doused with a liqueur and ignited. |
| flanconade | a thrust in the side. |
| flanerie | aimless idling, dawdling. |
| flaneur | an idle man-about-town; a lounger, gossiper. |
| fleche | a simple fieldwork, consisting of two faces forming a salient angle pointing outward and open at the gorge; (arch.) a thin spire. |
| flechette | a steel dart dropped from an aeroplane or fired from a gun. |
| fleuret fleurette | an ornament resembling a small flower. |
| fleuron | a decorative pastry motif. |
| flic | (sl.) policeman. |
| foible | a minor character failing. |
| folie | madness. |
| fonctionnaire | a civil servant. |
| fondant | a soft sweet made with flavoured sugar and water. |
| fondu fondue | a snack of melted cheese. |
| fontange | a kind of tall headdress worn in the 17th and 18th centuries. [From the Duchesse de Fontanges, a mistress of Louis XIV]. |
| forcat | a convict condemned to hard labour. |
| forte | one's strong point. |
| fossette | a small hollow or depression, as in a bone or shell. |
| foudroyant | sudden and overwhelming in effect; dazzling. |
| fouette | a ballet-step in which the foot makes a whip-like movement. |
| fougade fougasse | a small mine, in the form of a well sunk from the surface of the ground, charged with explosive and projectiles. |
| foulard | a soft lightweight plain-woven or twilled silk fabric. |
| foule | a fulled cloth, esp. a light woollen smooth-surfaced dress material. The e has an accent. |
| fourchette | a forked reinforcement on the backs of gloves. |
| fourgon | a baggage-wagon. |
| foyer | a large room in a theatre or concert hall for the use of the audience during intervals. |
| fracas | a rumpus, a to-do. |
| fraicheur | freshness. |
| fraise | a kind of palisade; (verb) to fence with such a palisade. |
| framboise | raspberry; a shade of pink: raspberry colour. |
| franc | a French unit of currency. |
| francolin | a spurred partridge of the genus Francolinus and allied genera, of Asia and Africa. |
| franglais | a mixture of French and English. |
| frappant | striking, affecting. |
| frappe frappee | of coffee etc., iced, artificially cooled; (noun) an iced drink. |
| fredaine | an escapade or prank. |
| frescade | a cool walk. |
| friand | dainty or delicate; (noun) a (female) epicure. |
| friande | dainty or delicate; (noun) a (male) epicure. |
| fricandeau | a thick slice of veal or similar meat. |
| fricassee | a dish made of fowls, veal, or other meat of small animals cut into pieces, and stewed in a gravy. |
| fripon | a knave or scamp. |
| friponnerie | knavery. |
| frise frieze | a decorated strip between architrave and cornice; a rough heavy woollen cloth; (verb) to put a frieze on. |
| frisee | a variety of curly endive. |
| frisette frizette | a curl of hair or silk; a pad of frizzed hair or silk worn by women under the hair to stuff it out. |
| friseur | a hairdresser. |
| frisson | an emotional thrill; a shudder of emotion. |
| frisure | the dressing of the hair by crisping or curling. |
| friture | a dish of fried food, a fritter. |
| froideur | coolness in personal relationships. |
| fromage | cheese. |
| frondeur | a member of the Fronde, a rebellious movement established in France during the reign of Louis XIV. |
| fronton frontoon | a pediment. |
| frottage | the technique of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface, by rubbing graphite over paper laid on top of the rough texture; the practice of obtaining sexual gratification by rubbing against someone, both parties usually being clothed. |
| frotteur | the active participant in FROTTAGE, in the sexual sense. |
| froufrou | the rustling of silk; frills or decoration. |
| fumet fumette | the scent of game when high. |
| funebre | mournful. |
| fureur | an extravagant admiration. |
| fusarol fusarole | a moulding generally placed under the echinus or quarter round of capitals in the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders of architecture. |
| fusee fuzee | a match with a long oval head for outdoor use. |
| fuselage | the elongated body section of an aeroplane, containing the crew and passengers or cargo. |
| fusillade | a simultaneous or successive discharge of firearms. |
| gabelle | a salt tax. |
| gabion | a wicker or wire basket of earth or rock. |
| gabionade | a traverse made with GABIONS between guns or on their flanks, protecting them from enfilading fire. |
| gaffe | a faux pas, a social mistake. |
| galage | an overshoe. Also GALOSH, GALOSHE, GOLOSH, GOLOSHE, GALOCHE. |
| galant | characterized by lightness and elegance. |
| galantine | a preparation of jellied fowl. |
| galere | a group of esp. undesirable people; an unpleasant situation. |
| galette | a round, flat, sweet or savoury cake. |
| galimatias | nonsensical talk; gibberish; gobbledygook. |
| galiot galliot | a small galley, formerly used in the Mediterranean. [Fr. galiote, from L. galea]. |
| galipot | the turpentine that exudes from the cluster pine. |
| gallet | a small pebble; (verb) to fill in mortar joints with small pebbles. [Fr. galet, pebble]. |
| gallimaufry | a hash of liver and other organs; hotch-potch. [Fr. galimafrée, from OF galimafree, sauce, ragout]. |
| gallopade | a lively ballroom dance in 2/4 time; a piece of music for this dance; (verb) to dance a gallopade. |
| galop | a lively double-time dance; (verb) to dance this > GALOPPING or GALOPING, GALOPPED or GALOPED. |
| galopade | a lively round dance. Cf. GALOP, GALLOPADE. |
| galopin | an errand boy, kitchen boy. |
| gamay | a variety of red grape used in making dry red wine. [From a French village]. |
| gambade | a bound or spring of a horse. |
| gamin | a street urchin; a precocious imp. |
| gamine | a homeless girl, a (female) urchin. |
| gaminerie | impishness, boyishness (in a girl). |
| ganache | a creamy chocolate mixture. [Fr. 'jowl']. |
| gangue | rock in which veins of ore are embedded. |
| garagiste | the owner or proprietor of a commercial garage. |
| garbure | a kind of Basque soup. |
| garcon | boy, waiter. |
| garderobe | a chamber for storing clothes; a wardrobe; a private chamber, a privy. |
| garigue garrigue | an uncultivated open scrubland of the Mediterranean region. |
| garni | trimmed, garnished. |
| garniture | embellishment, trimming; a set of decorative objects. |
| gascon | a braggart. |
| gasconade | boasting, bravado; (verb) to boast. |
| gaspereau | a fish of the herring family found on the Atlantic coast of N. America, aka ALEWIFE > GASPEREAUS. |
| gateau | cake > GATEAUS or GATEAUX. |
| gauche | awkward, clumsy. |
| gaucherie | an awkward or socially unacceptable remark. |
| gavage | the introduction of material into the stomach by a tube: forced-feeding (as of poultry or infants). |
| gavot gavotte | a kind of difficult dance; a dance tune, the air of which has two brisk and lively, yet dignified, strains in common time, each played twice over. |
| gazar | a stiff silk fabric, silk organza. |
| gelee | a cosmetic gel. |
| gendarme | a French policeman > GENDARMES or GENSDARMES. |
| gendarmerie | the French police. |
| genoise | a rich sponge cake. |
| genouillere | a jointed knee-piece in armour. |
| gentilhomme | a nobleman, a gentleman > GENTILSHOMMES. |
| georgette | a kind of thin silk. |
| gerbe | a kind of ornamental firework. [Fr. gerbe, sheaf]. |
| gerbil gerbille jerbil | a desert rodent. |
| gibus | an opera hat. [Maker's name]. |
| gigolo | a professional male dancing-partner or escort; a (usu. young) man supported by a (usu. older) woman in return for his attentions. |
| gigot jigot | a leg of lamb |
| gigue giga | a lively Baroque dance in triple time. |
| gilet | a light often padded waistcoat, usu. worn for warmth by women. |
| girandole girandola | a branched chandelier or similar structure. |
| gite | in France, a farmhouse offering holiday accommodation. |
| glace | iced with sugar; (verb) to ice with sugar, candy. |
| glacis | a gentle slope in fortification. |
| glissade | to slide down a steep slope esp. of snow by means of a glissade. |
| gloire | glory. |
| gloriole | an aureole. |
| godet | a triangular piece of cloth inserted in a skirt. |
| gorgerin | in some columns, that part of the capital between the termination of the shaft and the annulet of the echinus, or the space between two neck moldings. |
| gouache | painting with gum-based opaque water colors. |
| gougere | a kind of choux pastry, the dough of which has been mixed with grated cheese prior to baking. |
| goujon | a small strip of fish coated with flour and deep-fried. |
| gourde | a monetary unit of Cuba, Haiti etc., a silver dollar. |
| gourmet | a connoisseur in eating and drinking; an epicure. |
| goutte | a drop, a droplet. |
| gouvernante | a female governor or ruler. |
| grande | grand, big. |
| grandeur | impressive size. |
| gratin | the golden-brown crust covering a gratinated food or dish. |
| gratine | cooked or served au gratin. |
| gratinee | to cook or serve au gratin. |
| grattoir | a scraper made of flint. |
| grecque | a fret pattern in architecture. |
| greffier | in the Channel Isles, a registrar, a notary. |
| grege greige | of a grey-beige colour. |
| grenache | a variety of grape, or the wine made from it. |
| gridelin | a colour, pale purple and red. [Fr. gris-de-lin, flax grey]. |
| griffe | a claw-shaped decoration at the base of a column. |
| grillade | the act of grilling; also, that which is grilled. |
| grimoire | a magician's manual for invoking demons and spirits of the dead. |
| griot | in Africa, a tribal teller of tales. |
| grisaille | a style of painting in grey tints. |
| grisette | a French girl or young married woman of the lower class; more frequently, a young working woman who is fond of gallantry. |
| grison | a South American animal of the family Mustelidae (Galictis vittata), about two feet long, exclusive of the tail. Its under parts are black. |
| grivet | a long-tailed African monkey. |
| grosgrain | a heavy close-woven corded silk. |
| grossierete | coarseness. |
| gruyere | a kind of cheese made at Gruyere, Switzerland. |
| guenon | a kind of long-legged African monkey. |
| gueridon | a small ornate table or stand. |
| guerite | a projecting turret for a sentry, as at the salient angles of works, or the acute angles of bastions. |
| guichet | a ticket window or similar small opening. |
| guidon | a pennant. |
| guillemet | a quotation mark. |
| guilloche | to decorate with intersecting curved lines. |
| guillotine | an instrument for beheading consisting of a weighted blade with a diagonal edge which is allowed to drop between two tall grooved uprights. [From Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (1738—1814) who suggested its use for executions in 1789]. |
| guimpe | a wide cloth covering neck and shoulders worn by nuns. |
| guipure | a kind of lace having no ground or mesh. |
| gurlet | a pickaxe with one pointed and one bladed end. |
| habitan habitant | a French native of Louisiana or Carolina. |
| habitue | one who habitually frequents a place; as, an habitue of a theatre. |
| hachis | a hash, a mess. |
| hachure | a line used in shading maps to indicate steepness of slope; (verb) to shade with hachures. |
| haricot | a kind of pea or bean. |
| harlequinade | part of a pantomime in which a HARLEQUIN plays a chief part. |
| haut | haughty; high. |
| hautbois hautboy | a large kind of strawberry. |
| haute | feminine of HAUT, haughty, high. |
| hauteur | haughtiness; arrogance. |
| hennin | a steeple-hat with a veil hanging from it, worn by French women in the 15C. |
| herisse | bristled. |
| herisson | a pivoted beam with iron spikes, protecting wall, passage, etc. [Fr. herisson, hedghog]. |
| hollandaise | (designating) a sauce made with butter, egg-yolks, vinegar or white wine, and lemon juice, usu. served with fish. |
| homme | a man. |
| hors | out of the combat; disabled from fighting. |
| hotelier | a person who runs or owns a hotel. |
| houdan | a black-and-white five-toed domestic fowl. |
| huissier | a doorkeeper. |
| huitain | a group of eight lines of verse. |
| idee | idea. |
| immortelle | a plant with flowers that retain their color when dried. |
| impasse | a position from which there is no escape, a deadlock. |
| inconnu | an unknown person; a stranger; a large food fish of NW Canada. |
| inconnue | (feminine) unknown. |
| ingenu | an artless, naive young man. |
| ingenue | an artless, naive young woman. |
| insigne | signs or badges of office, insignia. |
| intime | inward; internal; intimate. |
| intimiste | a practiser of INTIMISM, a genre of French impressionism. |
| intrados | the undersurface of an arch or vault. |
| intrigante intriguante | a female intriguer. |
| ivresse | drunkenness. |
| izard | a variety of the chamois found in the Pyrenees. |
| jabot | a lace frill worn on shirt or dress front. |
| jacobin | an extremist or radical in politics. |
| jacquard | an intricately-woven variegated fabric; a loom for making jacquard. |
| jacquerie | a peasant's revolt, esp in 1358, the French peasant uprising against nobility. |
| jalousie | an outside shutter with slats. [Such blinds served in old Arabic ages to protect from being seen when having an intimate relationship, so that nobody else would become jealous]. |
| japonaiserie | art or craft in the Japanese style. |
| jardiniere | an ornamental stand or receptacle for plants, flowers, etc., used as a piece of decorative furniture in room. |
| jargonel jargonelle | an early pear. |
| jargoon | a brilliant pale or colourless zircon. |
| jaspe | mottled, variegated; (noun) a cotton cloth with a shaded effect. |
| jeton jetton | a piece of stamped metal used as a counter in card-playing. |
| jeu | game > JEUX. |
| jeune | young. |
| jocko | a chimpanzee. |
| jongleur | a medieval wandering minstrel; troubadour; juggler. |
| joual | a non-standard, chiefly urban variety of French. |
| jour | a day, as in jour de FESTE. |
| julienne | a kind of soup containing thin slices or shreds of carrots, onions, etc; (verb) to shred or cut into thin strips. |
| jumelle | a paired or twinned article; opera-glasses. |
| kepi | a legionnaire's cap. |
| kir | a wine and blackcurrant drink. [From Kir, the Frenchman said to have invented it]. |
| kyrielle | a string of short lines in stanzas all ending with the same word. |
| laisse | a tirade or string of verses on one rhyme. |
| laitance | a milky deposit on top of fresh concrete. |
| lalique | a type of ornamental glass. |
| lamantin | the manatee. |
| lambrequin | an ornamental hanging over upper part of window or along the edge of a shelf; a covering for a helmet. |
| lanciers | a French dance. N.B. there is no singular LANCIER. |
| lande | a heathy plain or sandy tract, esp. in S.W. France. |
| langouste | the spiny lobster. |
| langue | a language viewed as an abstract system used by a speech-community, in contrast to the actual linguistic behaviour of individuals. |
| languet languette | a tongue-like appendage or outgrowth. |
| lansquenet | a German foot soldier in foreign service in the 15th and 16th centuries; a soldier of fortune; -- a term used in France and Western Europe. Cf. LANDSKNECHT. |
| lapin | rabbit; rabbit fur. |
| largess largesse | a bestowal or distribution of gifts. |
| larmier | a corona or other course serving as a drip-stone. |
| layette | clothing, bedding, etc., for new-born child. |
| legionnaire | a member of the French Foreign Legion. |
| legume | the fruit or edible portion of any leguminous plant (bean, pea, etc.) grown for food. |
| leproserie | a hospital for lepers. Also LEPROSERY. |
| lettre | letter, as in e.g. lettre de cachet, a royal warrant. |
| liaison | an intimate relation or connection; communication and co-operation. |
| libraire | a bookseller. |
| librairie | the book trade; a bookshop. |
| lierne | in Gothic vaulting, any rib which does not spring from the impost and is not a ridge rib, but passes from one boss or intersection of the principal ribs to another. |
| lieu | a place or stead, esp. in the phrase in lieu of. |
| ligne | a measure of watch movement. |
| limacon | a type of mathematical curve. [Fr. limacon, snail shell, spiral staircase]. |
| lingerie | underwear. |
| litterateur | one who is devoted to the study or writing of literature. |
| livraison | a part of a book or literary composition printed and delivered by itself; a number; a part. |
| livre | an obsolete French coin, replaced by the franc. |
| locale | the scene of some event etc. |
| loge | a small enclosure or box in a theatre or opera house. |
| loir | a large European species of dormouse. |
| longeron | the longitudinal membrane of an airplane. |
| longueur | a long and tedious section of a book, play, etc. |
| lorette | a courtesan. |
| lorgnette | a pair of spectacles or opera glasses on a handle. [Fr. lorgner (to have a furtive look), from MF lorgne (squinting).] |
| lorgnon | an eyeglass. |
| loriot | the golden oriole. |
| louche | not reputable or decent. [Fr. louche, cross-eyed from L. luscus, blind in one eye]. |
| louis | a former gold coin of France. |
| loupe | a jeweller's magnifying glass worn on the eye-socket. |
| loure | an old slow dance in 6-4 time. [Fr. bagpipe]. |
| lucarne | a dormer window. |
| luminaire | the British Standards Institute term for a light fitting. |
| lunette | a crescent-shaped space where a vault meets a wall. |
| luxe | luxury, as in de luxe. |
| lycee | a French high school. |
| macaco | any one of several species of lemurs, as the ruffed lemur (Lemur macaco), and the ring-tailed lemur (L. catta). |
| macedoine | mixed diced vegetables; mixed fruit in syrup of jelly. [Fr. Macedoine, Macedonia, an area rich in ethnic variety]. |
| macon | smoked salted mutton. |
| madeleine | a small, rich cake baked in a fluted, shell-shaped pan. |
| mademoiselle | a French title of respect for an unmarried woman. |
| maderise maderize | of white wine, to become rusty in colour and flat in taste as a result of absorbing too much oxygen during maturation. |
| magot | the Barbary ape; a small grotesque figure in Chinese art. |
| maigre | in the Roman Catholic church, not containing meat or its juices, thus permissible on days of abstinence; (of a day) on which abstinence is enjoined. |
| maillot | tights worn by a ballet dancer. |
| maire | a mayor. |
| maisonette maisonnette | a part of a residential building which is occupied separately, usu. on more than one floor. |
| majoritaire | a member of a majority section of a political party, esp. a socialist one. |
| mal | pain, sickness. |
| maladroit | clumsy, unskilful. |
| malaise | uneasiness; indefinable feeling of illness or discomfort. |
| malapropos | in an inappropriate or inopportune way. |
| malfeasant | doing wrong. |
| maline | a delicate net used for veils. [Fr. name of Mechelin in Belgium]. |
| malinger | to feign sickness in order to avoid duty or work. [Fr. malingre, sickly], |
| mamelon | a rounded hill or protuberance. [Fr. mamelon, nipple]. |
| mamselle | miss. |
| manche | a sleeve. |
| manege | the managing of horses; (verb) to train a horse. |
| mangetout | a type of pea cooked and eaten together with its pod; aka snow peas. |
| mangouste | a mongoose. |
| manille | in the card games OMBRE and QUADRILLE, the highest card but one. |
| manque | short of or frustrated in the fulfillment of one's aspirations or talents (a poet manqué). [L. manco, having either hand crippled]. |
| mansard | a hipped curb roof; that is, a roof having on all sides two slopes, the lower one being steeper than the upper one. [From Francois Mansart, a French architect]. |
| manteau | a woman's cloak or mantle > MANTEAUS or MANTEAUX. |
| maquette | a small model of something to be made on a larger scale. |
| maquillage | make-up. |
| maquis | a guerrilla resistance force. |
| marabou | a large stork, which furnishes plumes worn as ornaments. [Fr. from Arabic murabit, hermit]. |
| marabout | a Moslem hermit or saint (N. Africa) or his tomb. [Fr. from Arabic murabit, hermit]. |
| marc | grapeskins and other refuse from wine-making. |
| marcel | an artificial wave in hair; (verb) to style hair in this way. |
| mariniere | (esp. of mussels) cooked in white wine with onions and herbs. |
| marionette | a puppet moved by strings, as in a puppet show. |
| marmite | a metal or earthenware pot without feet. |
| marmose | a species of small opossum ranging from Mexico to Brazil. [Fr. apparently from marmouset]. |
| marocain | a ribbed crepe fabric. |
| marque | a make or brand of something, esp. a motor vehicle. |
| marqueterie marquetry | furniture inlaid with multicoloured wood, ivory, or metal. |
| marquise | (the title of) a marchioness in Continental Europe or (formerly) Britain. |
| marron | a large chestnut. |
| marseille | a strong cotton fabric with a raised pattern, used for bedspreads etc. |
| martinet | a strict disciplinarian; one who adheres to rules. [From J. Martinet, 17th-cent. French drill-master]. |
| masse | a vertical shot in billiards. The e has an accent. |
| masseur | a male who makes a living by giving massage. |
| masseuse | a female who makes a living by giving massage. |
| massicot masticot | lead protoxide, obtained as a yellow amorphous powder, the fused and crystalline form of which is called LITHARGE. It is used as a pigment. |
| massif | a large mountain-mass; a compact group of mountain heights. |
| mastic mastich mastiche mastix | |
| matelasse matellasse | (a jacquard fabric) having a raised pattern as if quilted. |
| matelot matlo matlow | a seaman. |
| matelote matelotte | a kind of rich fish stew. |
| materiel | that in a complex system which constitutes the materials, or instruments employed, in distinction from the personnel, or men; as, the baggage, munitions, provisions, etc., of an army; or the buildings, libraries, and apparatus of a college. |
| matin mattin | morning; a morning service. |
| matinee | an afternoon performance at a theatre, cinema, or concert hall. |
| mauvais | bad; wicked, as in mauvaise foi, 'bad faith'; mauvais quart d'heure, brief bad or embarrassing experience; mauvais sujet, 'bad or wicked subject' or person. |
| mayonnaise | a thick sauce consisting of yolk of egg beaten up with oil and vinegar and seasoned with salt etc. |
| mazarinade | (Hist.) a satire or pamphlet against Cardinal Mazarin. |
| medaillon | a small round or oval serving, as of meat. |
| megasse | refuse in sugar-making, the same as BAGASSE. |
| melange | a mixture; a collection of heterogeneous items or elements, a medley. |
| melee | mixture, confusion. |
| menage | a household; a domestic arrangement; (verb) to manage. |
| menagerie | a collection of wild animals. |
| mentonniere | a piece of armour for the chin and throat. |
| menu | a list of dishes available. |
| menuisier | a joiner. |
| merde | shit. |
| merlon | a narrow wall in a battlement between embrasures. |
| merlot | a light-bodied red wine. |
| merveilleuse | a female MERVEILLEUX, a fashion extremist. |
| merveilleux | a fashion extremist. |
| mesalliance | a marriage with a person thought to be of inferior social position; an unsuitable union. |
| mesclun mesclum | a mixed salad of young leaves and shoots, e.g. of rocket, chicory, fennel etc. |
| mesquin | mean, sordid, shabby. |
| mesquine | fem. of MESQUIN, mean. |
| mesquinerie | the quality of being MESQUIN, mean. |
| metairie | a piece of land cultivated under the system of METAYAGE. |
| metayage | a system of farming on halves. |
| metayer | one who cultivates land for a share (usually one half) of its yield, receiving stock, tools, and seed from the landlord. |
| metier | one's occupation or department of activity. Now usu., a field in which one has special skill or ability; one's forte. |
| metif | the offspring of a white and a quadroon. |
| metis | the (male) offspring of a white person and an American Indian. |
| metisse | the (female) offspring of a white person and an American Indian. |
| meuniere | (of food, esp. fish) lightly coated in flour and fried in butter. |
| midinette | a French, esp. a Parisian, shop-girl; esp. a milliner's assistant. |
| mien | air, look. |
| mignon | (noun) filet mignon. |
| mignonette | a plant having greenish flowers with orange-colored stamens, and exhaling a delicious fragrance. |
| migraine | a severe throbbing pain affecting only one half of the head or face. |
| milieu | a social environment > MILIEUS or MILIEUX. |
| mille | a thousand. |
| millefeuille | a rich confection of thin layers of puff pastry and a filling of jam, cream, etc. |
| millefleur millefleurs | having an all over pattern of small flowers and animals. |
| milliard | a thousand million. |
| millieme | a coin representing one thousandth of the basic unit of currency, as in Egypt. |
| milor | a term of address for a rich or aristocratic Englishman. |
| minauderie | coquetry. |
| minaudiere | affected, coquettish. |
| minceur | of food, lean, low-fat. |
| minette | the smallest of regular sizes of portrait photographs. |
| minoritaire | a member of a minority section of a political party, esp. a socialist one. |
| miquelet | an irregular soldier; a partisan. |
| mirabelle | a European species of plum tree. |
| mirepoix | a French garnish, made of diced carrots, onions and celery. [From a French general whose cook is said to have created the dish]. |
| mirliton | a musical instrument resembling a kazoo; any instrument in which a sound is given a nasal quality by means of a vibrating membrane. |
| misere | at cards, an undertaking to take no tricks. [Fr. = poverty, misery]. |
| mistigris | a variation of poker in which a joker or blank card can be given any value; the card so used > MISTIGRISES. [Fr. mistigri jack of clubs]. |
| mistral | a strong cold dry north-east wind that blows through the Rhone valley towards the Mediterranean. |
| mitraille | shot or bits of iron used sometimes in loading cannon. |
| mitrailleur | a machine-gunner. |
| mitrailleuse | a machine-gun. |
| moderne | pretentiously modern. |
| modiste | a maker or seller of fashionable dresses and hats. |
| moellon | a dark wax or grease obtained when fish-oils are rubbed into hides and recovered, used in the dressing of leather; a preparation containing this or synthesized in imitation of it; aka DEGRAS. |
| mofette moffette | a volcanic opening in the earth emitting carbon dioxide. |
| moi | me; facetiously used in English to indicate pretension. |
| moineau | a small flat bastion to protect a fortress under construction > MOINEAUS. |
| moire | watered silk. The e has an accent. |
| molinet | a stick used to whip drinking chocolate in the 18th century. [Fr. moulinet, diminutive of moulin, mill]. |
| mondain | worldly; fashionable; (noun) a worldly (male) person. |
| mondaine | worldly; fashionable; (noun) a worldly (female) person. |
| monde | the world; a globe as an ensign of royalty. |
| mondial | of the whole world, world-wide. |
| monocoque | (denoting) an aircraft structure in which the outer skin carries all or most of the torsional and bending stresses; (denoting) a car structure in which the body is integral with and shares the stresses with the chassis. |
| monseigneur | a French title of respect given to princes and prelates > MESSEIGNEURS. |
| montage | (verb) to make a montage, to set in a montage. |
| montant | a vertical member in panelling or framing; in fencing, an upward blow. |
| montgolfier | a balloon using fire for propulsion. [From the Montgolfier brothers]. |
| monticule | a secondary volcanic cone. |
| montre | the visible pipes of an organ, usu. the open diapason. |
| monture | a mounting, setting or frame. |
| moquette | a thick piled fabric used in upholstery and carpeting. |
| moraine | a landform made largely of glacial till. |
| morceau | a bit; a morsel > MORCEAUX. |
| morgue | haughtiness; arrogance. |
| mornay | a cream sauce with cheese flavouring. [Perh. f. Philip de Mornay (d. 1623), French Huguenot writer]. |
| morne | the blunt head of a jousting lance. |
| mortmain | the state of being held inalienably by a corporation; (verb) to alienate into corporation's possession. [Fr. morte (feminine) dead + main, from L. manus, hand]. |
| mot | word. |
| motet motett | a kind of unaccompanied part-song or anthem. |
| motif | a distinctive idea. |
| mouchard | a police spy. |
| mouchoir | a handkerchief. |
| moue | a pouting, disdainful look. |
| mouille | of certain consonants, having a "liquid" or softened sound; e.g., in French, l or ll and gn (like the lli in million and ni in minion); in Italian, gl and gn; in Spanish, ll and n with tilde; in Portuguese, lh and nh. |
| moulage | an impression made for use as evidence in a criminal investigation. |
| moulin | a shaft in a glacier caused by water running down a crack. [Fr. moulin, mill]. |
| moulinet | a machine for bending a crossbow. |
| mournival | a set of four, especially a set of four court cards in one hand. [Fr. mornifle, a slap, a taunt]. |
| mousquetaire | a French musketeer; a style of glove. |
| mousse | jello with whipped cream; meat or fish with whipped cream; a hair-gel; (verb) to style hair with mousse. |
| mousseline | a French dress fabric; a hollandaise sauce with whipped cream or egg whites added. |
| mouton | a sheepskin processed to look like the fur of another animal. |
| moutonnee | of a rock, rounded by the action of a glacier. |
| mouvemente | full of movement, lively. |
| muscadet | a dry white wine. |
| muscadin | a Parisian fop or dandy; a middle-class moderate in the French Revolution. |
| muscardine | a disease which is very destructive to silkworms, and which sometimes extends to other insects. |
| muscat | a sweet white grape used for raisins and muscatel wine. |
| musette | a small bagpipe formerly in use, having a soft and sweet tone. |
| musicale | a musical evening. |
| mutuel | a system of betting on races. |
| mystique | the atmosphere of mystery and veneration investing some doctrines, arts, professions, or people. |
| nabis | a group of late 19th-cent. French post-impressionists following the artistic theories of the French painter Paul Gauguin (1848—1903). N.B. there is no singular NABI. |
| nacarat | a bright orange-red; a fabric so coloured. |
| nacelle | a structure on the wing of an airplane containing the engine. |
| nagor | a reedbuck of savannah in equatorial Africa, with short forward-curving horns. |
| naif | (noun) a naive person > NAIFS. |
| naissance | birth. |
| naissant | of a charge, esp. an animal: issuing from the middle of a fess or other ordinary. |
| naivete | naivety. |
| napoleon | an obsolete French gold coin of twenty francs. |
| nappe | a sheet of rock which has moved horizontally over neighbouring strata, as a result of overthrusting or recumbent folding. [Fr. nappe, tablecloth]. |
| narquois | mocking; malicious. |
| natron | native hydrous sodium carbonate. |
| navarin | a stew of mutton or lamb. |
| navette | a pointed oval shape; a jewel cut in this shape. |
| necessaire | a dressing-table; a workbox. |
| nee | with maiden name. |
| neglige negligee | a woman's light dressing-gown, esp. one of flimsy semi-transparent fabric trimmed with ruffles, lace, etc. |
| negociant | a merchant esp. a wine merchant. |
| negritude nigritude | the essential quality of the Negro genius. |
| neroli | an oil distilled from orange flowers. |
| neve | old compressed snow, aka FIRN. |
| niaiserie | simplicity; foolishness. |
| ninon | a lightweight dress fabric of silk, nylon, etc. |
| nobilesse noblesse | nobility, nobleness. |
| nocturne | a musical composition of a dreamy character; a painting of a night scene, a night-piece. |
| noir | a type of crime fiction. |
| noisette | a small thick round slice of boneless meat, especially lamb. [Fr. noisette, hazelnut]. |
| nom | name. |
| nombril | the point on an escutcheon between the fess point and the base point. [Fr. nombril, navel]. |
| nonpareil | a thing of unequalled excellence; a paragon. |
| normande | prepared with foods associated with Normandy. |
| nougat | (a sweet made from) egg-white sweetened with sugar or honey and mixed with nuts and sometimes pieces of fruit. |
| nouveau | new. |
| nouvelle | a long short story. |
| noyade | drowning, especially of many persons together as form of execution. |
| noyau | a liqueur made from brandy flavoured with bitter almonds or peach-stones. |
| numeraire | a standard for currency exchange rates. |
| objet | object. |
| obole | a mediaeval French coin. |
| octroi | a duty levied on certain goods entering a town, esp. in some European countries. |
| octuor | an octet. |
| oeuvre | the sum of an artist's life work. |
| orangerie orangery | a building for growing orange trees in a cool climate. |
| ordinaire | table wine. |
| organdie | a fine translucent cotton. |
| orgeat | a syrup or drink made from almonds, sugar etc., formerly from barley. |
| orgue | a row of stakes let down like a portcullis. |
| ormolu | a gold-coloured alloy of copper, zinc, and tin used to decorate furniture, make ornaments. [Fr. or moulu: or, gold + obs. molu, pp. of moudre, to grind]. |
| orseille | a dye obtained from certain lichens; lichens yielding this. Also ORCHIL, ORCHEL, ORCHELLA, ARCHIL. |
| ortanique | a cross between an orange and a tangerine. |
| ortolan | a kind of bunting, common in Europe and eaten as a delicacy. |
| oubliette | a dungeon with an opening only at the top. |
| oustiti wistiti | a lock-opening tool. [Fr. oustiti, marmoset]. |
| outrance | the utmost extremity; the bitter end. |
| outre | being out of the common course or limits; extravagant; bizarre. |
| outremer | the region beyond the sea. |
| ouvert | open. |
| ouverte | (feminine) open. |
| ouvrage | work. |
| ouvrier | in France: a manual or industrial worker; a labourer. |
| ouvriere | a (female) worker. |
| paduasoy | corded silk; a garment of this. [Fr. peau-de-soie]. |
| paillard | a slice of meat pounded thin and grilled. [From Paillard, a 1th century French restaurateur]. |
| paillasse palliasse | a hard straw mattress. |
| paillette | a piece of foil used in enamel painting; a spangle. |
| paillon | a piece of foil, to show through enamel. |
| paladin | a trusted military leader (as for a medieval prince), esp. each of the twelve bravest and most famous warriors of Charlemagne's court. [L. palatium, the emperor's palace located on the Palatine Hill]. |
| palais | a palace. |
| paletot | a loose overcoat. |
| palette | a little board, usually with a thumb-hole, on which a painter mixes colours. [Fr. from Ital. paletta, from pala spade, from Latin pala a spade]. |
| palisander | a JACARANDA or other ROSEWOOD. |
| palmette | an ornament (in sculpture or painting) with radiating petals like a palm leaf. |
| panache | dash or flamboyance in style; verve. [Originally referred to a showy, feathery plume on a hat or helmet, from L. pinnaculum]. |
| panne | a heavy lustrous silk or rayon with waxy feel. |
| pantalon pantalone | a movement in a quadrille. |
| pantine | a pasteboard jumping-jack, fashionable in the 18th century. |
| papeterie | packaged fancy stationery; a stationery-case. |
| papillon | a breed of toy spaniel with erect ears. |
| papillote | a paper frill decorating the end of a cutlet or other bone. |
| parados | an earthworks defending against a rear attack. [Fr. parados from L. parare, to prepare + dorsum, back]. |
| parella parelle | crustaceous lichen yielding ARCHIL. |
| parfait | a dessert mousse or icecream pudding. |
| parfleche parflesh | rawhide soaked in lye and water, then dried on a stretcher for shields. |
| parison | a lump of glass before it is moulded into its final shape. [Fr. paraison, from parer, to prepare]. |
| parquet | a floor-covering of fitted wooden blocks; (verb) to cover a floor with parquet. |
| parterre | a flower garden in which beds and paths form a pattern. |
| parti | a group of people; a decision; a marriageable person considered as a match. |
| parure | a set of ornaments or jewels. Also PARURA. |
| paspy passepied | a Breton dance resembling a quick minuet. |
| pasquinade | a lampoon posted in a public place; satire; (verb) to compose a PASQUINADE. |
| passade | the motion of a horse to and fro over ground in dressage. |
| passe | out of date, or nearly so. (The e has an accent). |
| passee | (feminine) out of date, or nearly so. (The first e has an accent). |
| pastiche | a medley, composed from different sources; imitative work. |
| pasticheur | one who does PASTICHES. |
| pastis | a French aniseed-flavoured aperitif. |
| pastourelle | a medieval poem between a knight and a shepherdess. |
| patisserie | a shop which sells fancy cakes etc. |
| patissier | a maker or seller of fancy cakes. |
| patois | a dialect (orig. in France) of the common people in a particular area, differing fundamentally from the literary language; any non-standard local dialect. |
| patronne | a (female) client of a restaurant. |
| patte | a narrow band keeping a belt or sash in its place. |
| paupiette | a thinly sliced piece of meat used as a wrapper for various meat or forcemeat fillings. |
| pavillon | the bell of a wind instrument. [Fr. pavillon, pavilion]. |
| paysage | (a representation of) a rural scene or landscape. |
| pebrine | a destructive protozoan disease of silkworms. |
| peignoir | a woman's dressing-gown. |
| pelage | an animal's coat of hair or wool. |
| pelerine | a woman's cape, usually short, with points in front. |
| pelisse | a fur-lined or fur garment, esp. a military cloak. |
| penchant | a leaning, an inclination. |
| pensee | a thought. |
| pensionnat | a boarding-school. |
| pequiste | in Canada, a supporter of the Parti Quebecois. |
| percale | a closely woven cotton used especially for sheets. |
| percaline | a glossy lightweight cotton. |
| percheron | a kind of dappled or black heavy carthorse. |
| perdu perdue | lost to view; in concealment or ambush; close; (noun) one lying in ambush. |
| pere | father. |
| perique | a strong, black, Louisiana tobacco. |
| pernod | an aniseed-flavoured aperitif from France. |
| perron | a raised platform or terrace at an entrance door. |
| perruque | a wig. |
| perruquier | a wigmaker. |
| persico persicot | a cordial made of the kernels of apricots, nectarines, etc., with refined spirit. |
| persienne | an Eastern cambric or muslin with a coloured printed pattern; (pl.) Persian blinds, outside shutters of thin movable slats. |
| persiflage | frivolous, bantering talk. |
| persifleur | one who indulges in persiflage; a banterer; a quiz. |
| pesade | the motion of a horse when, raising his fore quarters, he keeps his hind feet on the ground without advancing; rearing. |
| petanque | a game of bowls in which steel bowls are rolled towards a wooden post. |
| petard | a case containing an explosive to break down a door or gate or breach a wall; a loud firework. |
| petillant | sparkling, used of wine. |
| petit petite | small, esp. of build. |
| petrissage | massage by longitudinal rubbing and lateral squeezing. |
| petroleur | a rioter who uses petroleum, as in the Paris uprising of 1871. |
| petroleuse | a female PETROLEUR, one who makes use of petroleum for incendiary purposes. |
| philosophe | a philosopher. |
| piaffe | to perform a PIAFFER, a movement in dressage. |
| piaffer | a movement in dressage. |
| piastre piaster | a North African monetary unit. |
| picaresque | pertaining to rogues, especially applied to literature about rogues and vagabonds. |
| picayune | a silver 5-cent coin struck by the U.S. mint from 1792-1873: a half dime; (fig.) something trivial: not worth a picayune. |
| picot | one of series of small loops forming ornamental edging to ribbon, lace, etc; (verb) to ornament with PICOTS. |
| picote | ornamented with PICOTS, small loops. |
| picotee | a variety of carnation, with petal margins of different color. |
| pierrette | a female performer in a PIERROT group. |
| pierrot | a comic character in French pantomime, dressed in a floppy white suit. |
| pilotis | a series of columns or piles, used to raise the base of a building above ground level > PILOTIS. |
| pinot | a variety of grape. |
| piolet | a mountain-climbing ice axe. |
| pirouette | a twirling motion. |
| pise | a species of wall made of stiff earth or clay rammed in between molds which are carried up as the wall rises. The e has an accent. |
| pissoir | a public urinal on the streets of Paris. |
| piste | a ski-trail. |
| pistolet | a small pistol. |
| pistou | a French sauce > PISTOUS. |
| piton | a metal spike which is hammered into rock or ice and used to secure a rope through an eye at one end. |
| plafond | a decorated ceiling. |
| plage | a fashionable beach |
| plaquette | a small plaque. |
| plastique | plastic explosive. |
| platband | a border of flowers in a garden, along a wall or a parterre; hence, a border. |
| plateau | a flat highland > PLATEAUS or PLATEAUX. |
| pleiades | a group of seven illustrious persons. [From the seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione, fabled to have been made by Jupiter a constellation in the sky]. |
| plie | a movement in ballet. (The e has an accent). |
| plisse | of a fabric, chemically treated to produce a shirred or puckered effect; (noun) a puckered texture of cloth. |
| plumassier | a worker in feathers; feather-seller. |
| pochette | a pocket notecase or wallet. |
| pochoir | a manual colour stencilling onto a printed illustration. |
| poilu | (sl.) an infantry soldier in World War One. |
| pointe | the extreme tip of the toe; the position of standing on it. |
| pointelle | an openwork design, as in knitted fabric. |
| poisson | a fish. |
| poitrine | a woman's bosom. |
| politesse | courteous formality, politeness. |
| politique | in French history, a member of a moderate party between Huguenots and Catholics. |
| polonaise | a stately Polish dance of moderate tempo. |
| pomander | a ball of perfumes. [Fr. 'pomme de ambre']. |
| pompier | (of art) conventional, traditional, uninspired. |
| ponceau | a poppy-coloured red dye > PONCEAUS or PONCEAUX. |
| portiere | a curtain hanging across a doorway. |
| portmanteau | a travelling bag. |
| poseur | one who poses, an affected person. |
| poseuse | a female POSEUR. |
| positif | a feature on older organs, manually controlling soft stops. |
| postiche postique | artificial or spurious (thing); false (hair); (ornament) added, especially inappropriately, to finished thing. |
| potage pottage | a thick soup or stew of vegetables and sometimes, meat. |
| potager | a garden laid out in a decorative way. |
| potiche | a round or polygonal jar, tapering at neck, with removable cover. |
| potin | an old alloy of copper, zinc, lead and tin. |
| potpourri | a mixture of dried petals. |
| poulard poularde | a fattened or spayed hen. |
| poule | a hen, esp. a chicken for boiling. |
| poulpe poulp | the octopus. |
| pourboire | a tip, gratuity. |
| pourparler | a discussion prior to negotiation. |
| pourpoint | a mediaeval quilted doublet. |
| poussette | a movement, or part of a figure, in the contradance. |
| poussin | a chicken raised for eating at around six weeks old. |
| practique | practice. |
| praline prawlin | a kind of chocolate. [From Marshal de Plessis-Praslin (1598—1675), French soldier, whose cook invented praline]. |
| pratique | permission granted to a ship to use a port after quarantine or on showing a clean bill of health. |
| precieuse | a woman affecting a fastidious over-refinement. |
| precieux | a man affecting a fastidious over-refinement. |
| precis | a concise summary; (verb) to make a summary of. |
| premiere | to present or perform (a play, film, etc.) for the first time. |
| priedieu | a low desk with a book-space above and a foot-piece for kneeling in prayer > PRIEDIEUS or PRIEDIEUX. |
| primeur | a new or early thing; spec. in pl., fruit or vegetables grown to be available very early in the season. |
| prochain prochein | a next friend (short for prochain ami). |
| procureur | a procurator. |
| profiterole | a chocolate dessert. |
| projet | a plan proposed; a draft of a proposed measure; a project. |
| prolonge | a rope with a hook and a toggle, sometimes used to drag a gun carriage or to lash it to the limber, and for various other purposes. |
| promenade | a walk for pleasure, display, or exercise; (verb) to take a promenade. |
| proneur | a flatterer. |
| prosateur | one who writes prose for a living. |
| protege | one who is looked after or sponsored by another. |
| protegee | one (female) who is looked after or sponsored by another. |
| provocateur | one who provokes others to commit a crime. |
| prunelle | a strong silk or woollen material, formerly used for academic and clerical gowns and women's shoes. Also PRUNELLA, PRUNELLO. |
| pucelle | a maid or virgin, esp. (with capital) Joan of Arc. Also PUZEL, PUZZEL, PUSSEL. |
| putois | a brush for painting pottery > PUTOIS. |
| quadrille | a square dance for four couples; (verb) to dance the quadrille. |
| quai | quay. |
| quartier | a specified district in a French town or city. |
| quatorze | the four aces, kings, queens, knaves or tens in pique, counting fourteen. |
| quatre | a card, die, or domino, having four spots, or pips. |
| quelquechose | something. |
| quenelle | a poached meat dumpling. |
| quiche | a flan of plain pastry filled with a cooked egg mixture. |
| quillon | the arm of the cross-guard of a sword handle. |
| quintal | a unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms. |
| quinze | a card game. |
| rabat rabatte | to rotate into coincidence with another plane. |
| raclette | a dish made from melted cheese and potatoes. |
| racloir | a scraper. |
| raconteur | a teller of anecdotes. |
| raconteuse | a female RACONTEUR. |
| rafale | a burst of artillery in quick rounds. [Fr. rafale, squall]. |
| ragout | a stew; (verb) to make a ragout of. |
| raisonne | arranged systematically, or according to classes or subjects; as, a catalogue raisonne. |
| raisonneur | a person in a play or book embodying the author's viewpoint. |
| rale | a rattling sound from a diseased lung. |
| rappee | a pungent kind of snuff made from the darker and ranker kinds of tobacco leaves. [Fr. (tabac) rape, rasped]. |
| rappel | a call to arms by the beating of a drum; (verb) to descend by rope. |
| rapport | a relationship, especially harmonious. |
| rapportage | the description of real events in writing. |
| rapporteur | a person whose task it is to carry out an investigation and draw up a report for a committee. |
| rapprochement | a resumption of or improvement in relations between countries or persons. |
| rascasse | a kind of fish found in the Mediterranean. |
| ratatouille | a vegetable dish of aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, onions, and peppers fried and stewed in oil. |
| ratine | a rough dress material. |
| ravigote ravigotte | vinegar sauce: minced onion, capers, and herbs. |
| reblochon | a delicately-flavoured soft cheese, made chiefly in the Savoie region of France. |
| recamier | a backless couch. [From Madame de Recamier]. |
| rechauffe | a reheated dish; a fresh concoction of old material. |
| recherche | exquisite, choice; excessively refined, affected. |
| recit | the narrative of a book as opp. to the dialogue; a book or passage consisting largely of this. |
| reclame | the art or practice by which publicity is secured. |
| recollet | a member of an order of Franciscan friars who cultivate detachment from the world. |
| redan | a field fortification with two parapets meeting at an angle. |
| redingote | a long plain double-breasted outside coat for women. |
| reduit | a keep or stronghold into which a garrison may retire if the outworks are taken. |
| reflet | an iridescent or metallic lustre. |
| regie | a system of Government monopoly, esp. in tobacco. |
| regisseur | a ballet director. |
| reinette | a name given to many different kinds of apples, mostly of French origin. |
| relache | a period of rest, an interval; a break from something. |
| releve | a raising on to the toe in ballet (the final E has an acute accent). |
| religieuse | a (female) person bound by monastic vows; a nun. |
| religieux | a (male) person bound by monastic vows; a monk. |
| reliquaire reliquary | a receptacle for relics. |
| remanie | a fossil or other relic of an older rock preserved in a later deposit. |
| remarque | a mark made in the margin of an engraving indicating a stage of development prior to completion. |
| remblai | earth or materials made into a bank after having been excavated. |
| remolade remoulade | a piquant sauce. |
| remontant | (a plant) flowering more than once per season: 'a new series of bearded irises bred from the remontant Iris germanica'. |
| remuage | the process of turning or shaking wine bottles so that the sediment collects at the cork end for removal. |
| remueur | the person who carries out REMUAGE, the process of turning or shaking wine bottles so that the sediment collects at the cork end for removal. |
| rencontre | a meeting, encounter, duel. |
| rendezvous | an arranged meeting. |
| rente | interest payable by government on indebtedness; the bonds, shares, stocks, etc., which represent government indebtedness. |
| rentier | an owner of RENTES; one living on income from investments; one living on fixed income. |
| renversement | an aeroplane manoeuvre consisting of a half- loop effected simultaneously with a half-turn. |
| renvoi | a sending back by a government of an alien to his or her own country. |
| repechage | a supplementary heat or competition giving elminated competitors the chance of competing again to reach the final. |
| repertoire | a stock of dramatic parts, tunes, songs, etc., which a performer or company knows or is prepared to perform. |
| repetiteur | a coach, tutor; one who rehearses opera singers. |
| repique | at piquet, the winning of thirty points or more; (verb) to score a repique. |
| repousse | shaped in relief by being beaten up from under or reverse side; such artistic work; (noun) repousse work, an article made from repousse. |
| repoussoir | a figure or object in the foreground of a painted etc. composition intended to draw the viewer's eye in. |
| requin | the man-eater, or white shark: so called on account of its causing requiems to be sung. |
| reseau | a fine-meshed ground for lacework > RESEAUX, RESEAUS. |
| restauranteur | one who frequents restaurants. |
| restaurateur | the operator or proprietor of a restaurant. |
| retable | a shelf or ornamental setting for panels behind an altar. |
| retroussage | in etching, the action of drawing a fine cloth across an inked plate to draw out some ink and smear it irregularly across the plate. |
| retrousse | turned up; -- said of a pug nose. |
| revanche | revenge: esp a usually political policy designed to recover lost territory or status. |
| reveille | a signal given in the morning, usu. on a drum or bugle, to waken soldiers and indicate that it is time to rise. |
| revenant | one that returns after death or a long absence. |
| revendication | the action of claiming back or recovering something by a formal claim. |
| reverie revery | a dream-like state. |
| revers | any part of a garment which is turned back. |
| revertant | a mutant gene that regains a former capability. |
| reveur | a (male) daydreamer |
| reveuse | a (female) daydreamer. |
| revue | a loosely constructed theatrical show. |
| ricochet | the action of a projectile, esp. a bullet or shell, in rebounding at an angle off a surface or surfaces after being fired. |
| rigaudon rigadoon | a lively Baroque period dance. [Fr. rigaudon]. |
| rillettes | a French type of potted meat made by simmering shreds of lean and fat pork, then pounding them to make a paste. N.B. there is no word RILLETTE. |
| rimaye | a BERGSCHRUND, a crevasse formed where a glacier or snowfield moves away from a mountain wall. |
| ripost riposte | in fencing, a return thrust after a parry. |
| risque | (noun) risk. |
| rissole | a deep-fat-fried, pastry-enclosed croquette filled with minced meat or fish. |
| rivage | coast, shore. |
| riverain | of a river or its neighbourhood; (noun) a riverside dweller. |
| riviere | a necklace of precious stones. |
| rocaille | artificial rockwork or similar ornament. |
| rocambole | a plant closely related to garlic. |
| rococo | a style of architecture marked by much ornamentation esp. scrollwork. |
| rognon | an isolated rock outcrop on a glacier. |
| romaine | a type of lettuce. |
| rondache | a circular shield carried by foot soldiers. |
| rondeau | a lyrical French poem having 10 or 13 lines, with two rhymes repeated throughout and with opening phrase repeated twice as a refrain > RONDEAUX. |
| rondel rondelle | a small round tower erected at the foot of a bastion. |
| rondelet | a short 5 or 7-line rondeau with one refrain per stanza. |
| rondure | gracefully rounded curvature. 'And all things rare/That heaven's air in this huge rondure hems.' (Sonnet 21). |
| roquette | a kind of salad plant, rocket. |
| rosace | a rosette; a rose-window. |
| rosbif | an English person. |
| rotisserie | a cooking apparatus incorporating a spit; (adj.) of, relating to, or being a sports league consisting of imaginary teams whose performance is based on the statistics of actual players. |
| rouche ruche | a frill of lace or other material. |
| roue | a debauched man; a lecher. |
| rouen | a type of domestic duck. |
| rouge | a red powder or cream used as a cosmetic to add colour to the lips or esp. the cheeks; (verb) to redden with rouge. |
| rouille | a Provencal sauce. [Fr. rouille, rust]. |
| roulade | a melodic embellishment sung to one syllable; a meat roll. |
| rouleau | a roll of coins, wrapped in paper > ROULEAUS or ROULEAUX. |
| roulette | game of chance involving coloured balls; (verb) to make roulettes in. |
| rousseau | fried pemmican > ROUSSEAUS, not ROUSSEAUX*. |
| roussette | a kind of fruit-bat; a kind of dog-fish. |
| roux | a thickening made of equal quantities of butter and flour mixed together > ROUX. |
| ruelle | the space between the bed and the wall. |
| russe | as in charlotte russe, a cold dessert made from whipped cream, custard etc, surrounded by sponge fingers. |
| sabayon | a sauce of whipped egg yolks, sugar and wine. |
| sabir | a French-based pidgin language. |
| sabot | a wooden shoe; a clog; an attachment to guide a projectile through the bore of a firearm. |
| saboteur | one who performs acts of sabotage. |
| sabotier | a wearer of wooden shoes. |
| sabretache | a satchel suspended from cavalry officer's belt. |
| sabreur | a person, esp. a cavalry officer, who fights with a sabre. |
| saccade | a brief rapid movement of the eye from one position of rest to another, whether voluntary or involuntary. |
| sainfoin saintfoin | a leguminous plant, used as fodder. |
| salariat | the salary-earning class collectively. |
| saligot | the water chestnut. |
| salle | a hall. |
| salmi salmis | a ragout of roast game. |
| salpicon | a French dish comprising game, fish, poultry, truffles etc. in sauce. |
| sangfroid | self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain. |
| sanglier | a wild boar. |
| sans | without; deprived or destitute of. |
| sansculotte | an extreme radical republican in France at the time of the Revolution; a radical or violent extremist in politics. |
| sansculotterie | the SANSCULOTTES as a social group. |
| sarbacane | a blowpipe for shooting animals etc. |
| sarrasin sarrazin | buckwheat. |
| saucisse saucisson | a long and slender pipe or bag, made of cloth well pitched, or of leather, filled with powder, and used to communicate fire to mines, caissons, bomb chests, etc. |
| saurel | any of various elongated carangid fishes of the genus Trachurus, with bony plates along each side, esp. the scad and the jack mackerel. |
| saute | fried lightly and quickly; (verb) to fry in this fashion. |
| sauterne | a white wine made in the district of Sauterne, France. |
| sautoir sautoire | a long necklace, or pendant on a long chain. |
| savant | a learned person, esp. a distinguished scientist etc. |
| savante | a woman of great learning. |
| savate | a French form of kick-boxing. |
| scelerat | a (male) villain. |
| scelerate | a (female) villain. |
| scrimure | a fencer. |
| scrutoire | an ESCRITOIRE, a writing desk. |
| seance | a session or meeting of psychical researchers or spiritualists for the purpose of trying to contact the spirits of the dead. |
| secateur | a cutting tool used for gardening, usu. in pl. SECATEURS. |
| seconde | in fencing, a position in parrying. |
| secretaire | a writing desk. |
| seiche | a rocking movement of the surface of a lake or inland sea. |
| seigneur seignior | a lord, especially of manor. |
| semainier | a chest of drawers. |
| semilune | a work constructed beyond the main ditch of a fortress, and in front of the curtain between two bastions, intended to defend the curtain; a ravelin. Cf. DEMILUNE. |
| sepiostaire | cuttlebone. |
| septleva | (in the game of basset) seven times as much added to the first stake. [Fr. sept-et-le-va]. |
| serac | a large mass of ice broken off a glacier and remaining behind in a crevasse. |
| serail | a SERAGLIO, a harem; a palace of a sultan. |
| serein | fine tropical rain falling from cloudless night sky. |
| serin | a bird of the finch family. [Fr. serin, canary]. |
| serinette | a small barrel-organ for training songbirds. |
| serrefile serafile | a file of officers or men appointed to ride at the rear rank of a squadron. |
| serviette | a table-napkin, esp. a paper one. |
| setenant | in philately, two or more stamps joined together in an unsevered block of which at least one differs in design and value from the others. |
| shagreen | a granular leather made from horse's or donkey's skin; the skin of shark, ray, etc, covered with small nodules. [Fr. chagrin, from Turkish sagri, horse's rump, shagreen]. |
| sicilienne | a kind of ribbed silk. |
| siecle | a century, period or era. |
| sieur | sir; -- a title of respect used by the French. |
| siffleur | a (male) professional whistler. |
| siffleuse | a (female) professional whistler. |
| silhouette | a portrait obtained by tracing the outline of a profile, head, or figure, esp. by means of its shadow. |
| simpliste | simplistic; naïve. |
| sirvente | a (usu. satirical) poem or lay recited by a medieval troubadour. |
| sixain sixaine | a stanza of six lines. |
| sixte | a position in fencing. |
| sobriquet soubriquet | a nickname. [Fr. sobriquet, from soubriquet (chuck under the chin). Probably from the fact that calling by a nickname affords one to cozy up to someone and tap under the chin.] |
| soigne | (masculine) well cared for, well groomed. |
| soignee | (feminine) well cared for, well groomed. |
| soiree | an evening party. |
| solfege | a singing exercise using the syllable do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti. Also SOLFEGGIO. |
| sommelier | a butler; a wine steward. |
| sondage | a trial bore or excavation; a sounding out of opinion. |
| sonde | an instrument probe for transmitting information about its surroundings underground or under water. |
| sorgo sorgho | Indian millet and its varieties. |
| sottisier | a collection of jokes; quotes; ridiculous remarks. |
| sou | a low-value French coin. |
| soubise | a sauce made with onions or onion puree. [From the Prince de Soubise]. |
| soubrette | a coquettish and intriguing maid; such a role in drama. |
| souffle | a light spongy dish made by mixing egg-yolks and other ingredients with stiffly beaten egg-whites, usu. baked in an oven until puffy. |
| soukous | a form of Central African dance music. [Fr. secouer, to shake]. |
| soupcon | a suspicion, a trace. |
| sourdeline | a small bagpipe. |
| soutache | a narrow braid for trimming. |
| soutane | a Roman Catholic priest's cassock. |
| souteneur | a prostitute's pimp or bully. |
| souterrain | an underground chamber; an earth-house. |
| sparterie | articles made of esparto. |
| spirituel | showing refined and witty grace and delicacy (masculine). |
| spirituelle | showing refined and witty grace and delicacy (feminine). |
| sportif | sporty. |
| stere | a timber measure, a cubic metre (about 35.315 cubic feet). |
| strapontin | a folding seat in a theatre. |
| suave | polite, sophisticated and smoothly affable, esp. superficially so > SUAVER, SUAVEST. |
| succes | success. |
| sucrier | a table vessel for sugar. |
| suite | a train of attendants. |
| suivante | a waiting woman or confidential maid. |
| suivez | follow (the solo part, as a direction to accompanists). |
| supercherie | deception; hoax; fraud. |
| sur | on, above. |
| surtout | a man's coat to be worn over his other garments; an overcoat, especially when long, and fitting closely like a body coat. |
| surveillance | a watch kept over someone or something, esp. over a criminal. |
| suzerain | an overlord. |
| svelte | slender. |
| sympathique | attractive. |
| tablanette | a variant of the card game CASSINO. |
| tableau | a picture or vivid pictorial impression > TABLEAUS or TABLEAUX. |
| tablier | an apron; a part of dress resembling an apron. |
| tachism tachisme | painting by smearing or splattering. |
| tachist tachiste | one who paints by smearing and splattering. [Fr. tache, blob (of paint)]. |
| taille | a tally; an account scored on a piece of wood. |
| tailleur | a woman's tailored suit. |
| tamarin | a genus of small S. American monkeys. [Fr. from Carib]. |
| tamin tamine | a thin worsted stuff, highly glazed. |
| tamis | a strainer; a glazed woollen or mixed fabric. |
| tampion tompion | a protective plug placed in the mouth of a gun or cannon. |
| tampon tompon | a plug in a wound to staunch flow of blood; (verb) to plug with a tampon. |
| tapenade | a paste made of olives, anchovies and capers. |
| tapis | a tapestry; formerly, the cover of a council table. |
| tapotement | the use of light taps in massage. |
| tarlatan tarletan | a thin, stiffly-starched, open-weave muslin. |
| tarsier | a kind of lemur native to Madagascar. |
| tartane | a small, single-masted Mediterranean ship with a lateen sail. |
| tartare | a mayonnaise dressing. |
| tartine | a slice of bread and butter with jam. |
| tartufe tartuffe | a hypocrite, esp. one who affects religious piety. |
| tastevin | a small shallow cup used for tasting wine. |
| tatou tatu | an armadillo, esp. the giant armadillo. |
| taupe | a brownish gray, similar to the color of moleskin. [Fr. taupe, mole]. |
| teleferique telepherique | a cableway. |
| tenail tenaille | an outwork in a main fortification ditch. |
| tenaillon | an outwork to strengthen the side of a small ravelin. |
| tendre tendresse | a tender feeling, a fondness. |
| tendron | a tendril. |
| tendu | a position in ballet > TENDUS. |
| tenne tenny | in heraldry, an orange-brown colour. |
| tenson tenzon | a competition in verse between two troubadours. [Fr. from L. tensio, a struggle]. |
| tenue | bearing, carriage, dress. |
| terreplein | a horizontal platform behind a parapet where heavy guns are mounted. |
| terrine | an earthenware jar or dish. |
| terroir | the combination of factors, such as soil and climate, that gives a wine its character. |
| tete | an elaborately dressed head of hair; a headdress. |
| thermidor | the eleventh month of the French republican calendar, -- commencing July 19, and ending August 17. |
| tige | the shaft of a column. [Fr. tige, stalk]. |
| timbale | a dish of meat, fish etc. cooked in a cup-shaped mould or shell; a mould of pastry. |
| tirailleur | a skirmisher; a sharpshooter. |
| tirasse | a pedal-coupler in an organ. |
| toilette | the action or process of washing, dressing, arranging the hair, etc. |
| toise | an old measure of length in France, containing six French feet. |
| toison | fleece. |
| tonneau | the rear extension of body of car > TONNEAUX or TONNEAUS. |
| toque toquet | a kind of cap worn in the 16th century, and copied in modern fashions. |
| torchere | a tall ornamental candlestick or lampstand. |
| torchier torchiere | a floor lamp with bowl for reflecting light upwards. |
| torchon | a duster or dishcloth; coarse lace or paper. |
| tordion turdion | a Renaissance dance similar to but slower than a GALLIARD. |
| touche | a call acknowledging a hit in fencing. |
| toupee toupet | little tuft; a curl or artificial lock of hair. |
| tourbillion tourbillon | a whirlwind; any whirling object. |
| tourmaline | a brittle boron aluminosilicate mineral with a glassy lustre, occurring as prismatic crystals of the trigonal system. [French, from Sinhalese tòramalli, carnelian]. |
| tournedos | a thick round beef fillet. |
| tourniquet | a device to stop bleeding, as a bandage twisted tight by a stick, etc. |
| tournure | contour; characteristic turn of line; grace or poise. |
| tracasserie | a state of disturbance or annoyance; a turmoil, bother, fuss; an embroilment, a petty quarrel, a tempest in a teapot (chiefly in pl.). |
| traceur | a participant in PARKOUR, the sport of running in urban areas performing gymnastics on manmade objects. |
| tragedienne | a female tragic actor. |
| trahison | treachery; treason. |
| tranche | a slice or block of money or shares. |
| tranchet | a chisel-shaped flint implement of some mesolithic and neolithic cultures. |
| transmanche | relating to the tunnel under the English Channel. |
| treillage | trellis-work; a trellis. |
| treille | a trellis. |
| tremie | a hopper-like device for laying concrete underwater. |
| trenise | the fourth movement of a quadrille. |
| tres | very. |
| triage | a system of giving battlefield treatment to those who will survive only with help; (verb) to practise triage. |
| tribade | a female homosexual; a lesbian. |
| tricot | a plain knitted silk or woollen fabric. |
| tricoteuse | in the French Revolution, a woman who attended executions and knitted. |
| triptyque | an international pass for a motor-car. |
| triste | sad, melancholy. |
| tristesse | sadness, melancholy. |
| trois | three. |
| trompe | a device in which water falls through a perforated pipe. As it falls, air comes through those holes, is sucked into the water and is thus entrained throughout the water. [Fr. trompe, trumpet]. |
| tronc | a collection of tips to be divided out among waiters. |
| trop | too much. |
| trottoir | pavement. |
| troubadour | any of a class of poet-musicians flourishing especially in southern France and northern Italy during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. |
| troupe | a company or troop, especially the company of performers in a play or an opera; (verb) to travel about as a member of a troupe. |
| trousseau | clothes collected by a bride for her marriage > TROUSSEAUS or TROUSSEAUX. |
| trouvaille | a fortunate find. |
| trouvere trouveur | one of a school of poets who flourished in Northern France from the eleventh to the fourteenth century. |
| trucage truquage | the faking of works of art. |
| trumeau | a piece of wall or pillar between two openings > TRUMEAUX. |
| truqueur | one who engages in TRUCAGE, the faking of works of art. |
| tuille | armour plate hanging below the tasses. |
| tuillette | a small TUILLE, a piece of armour plate hanging below the tasses. |
| tulle | a sheer and delicate thin silk. [From Tulle in France]. |
| tuque | a knitted, cylindrical woollen cap with tapered ends that is worn with one end tucked into the other. |
| turion | an underground bud, growing up into a new stem. [L. turio]. |
| tutoyer | to address familiarly. |
| tuyere | a nozzle, mouthpiece, or fixture through which the blast is delivered to the interior of a blast furnace, or to the fire of a forge. Also TWEER, TUYER, TWIER, TWIRE, TWYERE. |
| umbriere umbrere | the visor of a helmet. |
| urson | the Canada porcupine. [Fr. ourson, dim. of ours, bear]. |
| vacherin | a kind of cake, layered with Chantilly cream. |
| vareuse | a kind of loose jacket. |
| varsovienne | a polka-like Polish dance. |
| vaurien | a good-for-nothing. |
| vedette vidette | a mounted sentry stationed to watch for enemy. |
| veilleuse | a small, highly-decorated nightlight. |
| velours velour velure | a woollen stuff with velvet-like pile. |
| veloute | a kind of sauce prepared from a white stock of chicken etc. [Fr. veloute, velvety]. |
| venator | a huntsman; a hunter. [L. venari, to hunt]. |
| vendeuse | a saleswoman. |
| verdoy | in heraldry, charged with flowers, leaves. [Fr. verdoyé pp. of verdoyer, to make green]. |
| verglas | a film of ice on rock. [Fr. verre, glass, + glace, ice]. |
| verite | reality, truth, as in CINEMA VERITE. |
| verlan | a variety of French slang using back-to-front words and Arab words. |
| vermoulu | worm-eaten. |
| vernier | a short sliding scale indicating fractions of a graduation; an additional control for obtaining fine adjustments. [From Pierre Vernier (1580—1637), French mathematician.] |
| vernissage | a private showing or preview of an art collection. |
| veronique | served with white grapes e.g. sole veronique. |
| vers | verse. |
| vertu vertue | virtue; power. |
| vervet | a small, long-tailed African monkey. |
| vicereine | the wife of a viceroy. |
| vichyssois | of the Vichyite government. |
| vichyssoise | a soup made with potatoes, leeks, and cream, and usu. served cold. |
| vicomte | in France, a noble equal in rank to a viscount. |
| vicomtesse | a female VICOMTE. |
| victorine | a woman's fur tippet. |
| vielle | a French name for the Hurdy Gurdy, a mechanical development of the violin (also once known as a Vielle) with the strings vibrated by a wheel, and keys stopping the strings. |
| vigneron | a vine-grower. |
| vignette | a small, ornamental illustration without frame or with background shaded off; slight portrait or character sketch; (verb) to make a vignette of. |
| villanelle | a poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain. |
| vin | wine. |
| vinaigrette | a salad dressing of oil and wine vinegar with seasoning. |
| vinasse | the waste liquor remaining in the process of making beet sugar, -- used in the manufacture of potassium carbonate. |
| virelai virelay | an old French lyric form in two-rhymed stanzas of short lines. |
| virement | in accounting, an authorised transfer of a surplus to balance a deficit under another heading. |
| virgule | a diagonal mark (/) used especially to separate alternatives, as in and/or, to represent the word per, as in miles/hour, and to indicate the ends of verse lines printed continuously, as in 'Old King Cole/Was a merry old soul'. |
| virtu | a love of the fine arts; a taste for the curious. |
| visite | a light cape or short cloak of silk or lace worn by women in summer. |
| vison | the American mink. |
| vite | quickly. |
| vitesse | speed. |
| vitrage | a thin curtain for windows or glazed doors. |
| vivandier | a (male) attendant on a regiment, who sells provisions. |
| vivandiere | a (female) attendant on a regiment, who sells provisions. |
| vivres vivers | food; eatables. |
| voila | there it is. |
| voile | a thin semi-transparent material. |
| voiture | a carriage. |
| volage | flighty, fickle. |
| voltigeur | a lightly armed skirmisher. |
| voulu | willed, deliberate, contrived. |
| voussoir | one of the wedge-shaped pieces forming an arch or vault. |
| vouvray | a French white wine. |
| voyageur | a traveller; -- applied in Canada to a man employed by the fur companies in transporting goods by the rivers and across the land, to and from the remote stations in the Northwest. |
| voyeur | one who derives sexual gratification from watching others. |
| zouave | one of an active and hardy body of soldiers in the French service, originally Arabs, but now composed of Frenchmen who wear the Arab dress. |
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