Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
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 biguine | 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. |
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. |
chevrotin | a kind of soft cheese made from goats' milk. |
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. |
chinois cinque | a cone-shaped sieve. |
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. |
cinq cinque | five; the number five in dice or cards. |
cipaille | a kind of pie with layers of meat and pastry. |
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). |
coyau | a steep roof design. |
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 | (someone) uprooted from one's environment; displaced geographically or socially > DERACINES. |
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 | the technique of gilding the back of a sheet of glass > EGLOMISES. |
elan | ardour inspired by passion or enthusiasm. |
elance | to throw as a lance. |
eloge | a commendation; an encomium. |
embarras | an embarrassment. |
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. |
emigree | a female emigre. |
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. |
ensuite | a room, esp. a bathroom, adjoining another room. |
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. |
epater | to shock complacent people. |
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. |
espoir | a category of wrestler. |
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. |
fixatif | a fixing agent. |
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. |
fleur | a flower. |
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]. |
mourvedre | a variety of red wine grape. |
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. |
pointille | ornamented with a pattern of dots made by a pointed tool; (noun) a fine point or subtle distinction > POINTILLES. |
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. |
pudeur | a sense of shame. |
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. |
roquefort | a kind of cheese. |
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; (noun) someone interested in sport > SPORTIFS. |
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. |
suete | a south-east wind in areas of Cape Breton Island. |
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. |
terrasse | a paved area outside a French cafe . |
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. |
tuile | a think cookie made with almonds. |
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. |