French–English dictionary

jamais

At any time.

Jamal

A en given name.

jambage

Either of the upright posts on either side of a door, which together support a lintel.

jambalaya

Any of various of rice-based dishes common in Louisiana Cajun or Creole cooking; most often with shrimp, oysters, chicken or ham.

jambe

In humans, the lower limb extending from the groin to the ankle.

jambe de force

(chiefly, construction) A beam or rod providing support.

jambelet

A piece of jewelry/jewellery, resembling a bracelet but worn around the ankle.

jamboree

(scouting) A large rally of Scouts or Guides.

Jamila

A en given name.

janv.

Abbreviation of January.

janvier

The first month of the Gregorian calendar, following the December of the previous year and preceding February.

Japon

A country and archipelago of East Asia. Capital and largest city: Tokyo.

japonais

Of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of Japan, its people, language, or culture.

Japonaise

(countable, chiefly, in the plural) A person living in or originating from Japan, or of Japanese ancestry.

japonique

A language family spoken in Japan, consisting of Japanese proper and the Ryukyuan languages.

jappement

An abrupt, high-pitched noise or utterance.

japper

(countable) The high-pitched bark of a small dog, or similar.

jaquette

(printing, publishing) The detachable paper cover of a book; used to protect the binding, and to provide a blurb.

jaquier

The large fruit from this tree.

jardin

(in the plural) Such an ornamental place to which the public have access.

jardin d'enfants

(North America, Australia, India) An educational institution for young children, usually between ages 4 and 6; nursery school. [from 1852]

jardin ouvrier

(British) A plot of land rented from the council for growing fruit and vegetables.

jardin public

(in the plural) Such an ornamental place to which the public have access.

jardinage

(horticulture) The process or action of cultivating the soil, particularly in a garden; the care of a garden; horticulture.

jardiner

(intransitive) To grow plants in a garden; to create or maintain a garden.

jardinier

Any bird of the Australasian family Ptilonorhynchidae noted for building display structures (bowers) and decorating them with bright objects such as shells, glass, flowers, etc.

jardinière

A container in which flowers or plants are grown, usually affixed outside just below a window.

jargon

Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.

jargonner

(intransitive) To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds

jarnibleu

(uncountable, euphemistic) God.

jarnicoton

(uncountable, euphemistic) God.

jarre

A container and its contents; as much as fills such a container; a jarful.

jarret

(countable) The tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse, pig or dog.

jarretelle

A band worn around the leg to hold up a sock or stocking.

jarretière

A band worn around the leg to hold up a sock or stocking.

jars

A male goose.

jas

(nautical) A bar going through an anchor, perpendicular to the flukes.

jaser

To be engaged in informal conversation.

Jaseroque

A fantastical dreaded monster with flaming eyes.

Jasmine

A en given name.

jat

A vowel letter of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet (Cyrillic capital Ѣ, Cyrillic small ѣ, Glagolitic ⱑ), no longer in current use

jat’

A vowel letter of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet (Cyrillic capital Ѣ, Cyrillic small ѣ, Glagolitic ⱑ), no longer in current use

jauge

A stick or rod used to measure the depth of a liquid. Often used to check the level at which a liquid in an opaque or inaccessible tank or reservoir stands; gauge.

jauger

(transitive) To appraise the character or ability of; to judge of.

jaunâtre

Being of a light yellow hue.

jaune

A non-unionized worker hired to replace a striking union worker.

jaune canari

A light, slightly greenish, yellow colour.

jaune citron

A greenish yellow colour.

jaune d'oeuf

The yellow, spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the white albumen, and serves as nutriment for the growing young.

jaune paille

(uncommon) A pale, yellowish beige colour, like that of a dried straw.

jaunir

(intransitive) To become yellow or yellower.

jaunisse

(pathology) A morbid condition, characterized by yellowness of the eyes, skin, and urine. [from early 14th c.]

javel

(uncountable) A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.

javelle

(forestry) A group of logs tied together for skidding.

jazz

(music genre) A musical art form rooted in West African cultural and musical expression and in the African American blues tradition, with diverse influences over time, commonly characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms and improvisation.

JdR

(games) Initialism of roleplaying game.

je m'excuse

Sorry, as an apology.

je vous remercie

An expression of gratitude or politeness in response to something done or given. [from c. 1400]

Jean

(biblical) One of the books in the New Testament of the Bible, the epistles of John (1 John, 2 John and 3 John).

jean-foutre

(North America, informal, mildly, vulgar, offensive, or, derogatory) An annoying, contemptible, or worthless person.

Jeanne

A en given name, the standard feminine form of John since the 17th century.

Jeannette

A en given name.

Jeannot

A fictional character in the German fairy tale Hansel and Gretel.

jeans

denim trousers

Jedi

(Star Wars) One of a fictional order of beings from the Star Wars universe who are gifted with heightened awareness of the Force.

jeep

(genericized trademark) A sport utility vehicle or similar four-wheel-drive vehicle.

Jéhovah

(religion) A transliteration of the Masoretic pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.

Jeju

An island, province, and city in South Korea.

Jéred

(biblical character) A man mentioned in the Book of Genesis, a descendant of Adam and of Seth, the father of Enoch, an ancestor of Noah.

Jéricho

A city in the West Bank, Palestine.

jerky

Lean meat cured and preserved by cutting into thin strips and air-drying in the sun.

Jérôme

A surname transferred from the given name.

Jersey

An island, a crown dependency of the United Kingdom; the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel between France and England.

Jérusalem

A city in the Holy Land between the Mediterranean Sea and Dead Sea, holy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the claimed capital city of both Israel and Palestine.

Jessé

(biblical character) The son of Obed and the father of king David.

Jessica

A en given name.

jésuite

(Catholicism) A member of the Society of Jesus.

Jésus

(historical, religion) One of a variety of persons or entities in western Manichaeism, of whom some correspond closely to the Christian conception of Jesus of Nazareth.

jet

An act of throwing.

jet d'eau

An artificial, usually ornamental, water feature (usually in a garden or public place) consisting of one or more streams of water originating from a statue or other structure.

jetable

That is designed to be discarded rather than reused, refilled or repaired.

jetée

A construction in or around a harbour designed to break the force of the sea and to provide shelter for vessels lying inside.

jeter

(transitive) To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).

jeter des oeufs

To throw (especially rotten) eggs (noun sense 1.1.1) at (someone or something).

jeter des ordures

(intransitive) To drop or throw trash without properly disposing of it (as discarding in public areas rather than trash receptacles).

jeter l'opprobre sur

(transitive) To discredit, or expose to ridicule the falsehood or the exaggerated claims of something.

jeter le gant

(transitive) To insult intentionally, especially openly.

jeter un coup d'œil

(informal) To look slyly, or with the eyes half closed, or through a crevice; to peep.

jeter un coup d’œil

To look briefly at (something).

jeton

(money) A piece of currency, usually metallic and in the shape of a disc, but sometimes polygonal, or with a hole in the middle.

jeu

(engineering) A planned deviation between an exact dimension and a nominal or theoretical dimension.

jeu blanc

(tennis) A game in which one of the two players scored no points.

jeu d'échecs

A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

jeu d'enfant

(idiomatic) Something particularly easy or simple.

jeu d’enfant

(figurative) An easy or pleasant task.

jeu de barres

An electrical conductor that carries a large current, especially one that is part of a power distribution system; typically a thick strip, or a tube, of copper or aluminium.

jeu de cartes

(games) Any of the many games played with playing cards.

jeu de dames

(board games, UK, Irish, Commonwealth, uncountable) A board game for two players in which the players each have a set number of pieces (typically 12 or 20, depending on the rule set), known as men, and the object is to capture each of the opponent's pieces by jumping one's own pieces over the opponent's pieces.

jeu de direction

(cycling) On a bicycle, the system of bearings that connects the fork to the frame.

jeu de fusillade

(video games) A video game in which shooting enemies (or targets) is the main objective.

jeu de go

(board game) A strategic board game, originally from China and today also popular in Japan and Korea, in which two players (black and white) attempt to control the largest area of the board with their counters.

jeu de hasard

A significant risk, undertaken with a potential gain.

jeu de mots

(idiomatic) A pun, or similar humorous use of language such as a double entendre.

jeu de patience

A game for one or more people that is more or less difficult to work out or complete.

jeu de rôle grandeur nature

(countable) A live action roleplaying game.

jeu de rôle semi-réel

(countable) A live action roleplaying game.

jeu de timbres

(musical instrument) A musical instrument of the percussion idiophone family of instruments; like the xylophone, it has tuned bars arranged like the keys on a piano, and is also smaller in size and higher in pitch.

jeu vidéo

An electronic game, especially a game played using a general-purpose computer (as opposed to a game console).

jeudi

(US, Canada, informal in UK) On Thursday.

jeune

(not comparable, often, preceded by a possessive adjective or a possessive form of a noun) Younger.

jeune cygne

The young of a swan.

jeune femme

A girl; a maiden (without sexual experience).

jeune fille

A girl; a maiden (without sexual experience).

jeune homme

A familiar term of address for a young man.

jeune marié

A man in the context of his own wedding; one who is going to marry or has just been married.

jeune mariée

A woman in the context of her own wedding; one who is going to marry or has just been married.

jeune pousse

(figurative) A child.

jeûner

(transitive, sciences) To cause (a person or animal) to abstain, especially from eating.

jeunesse

(uncountable, used as plural or singular) Young persons, collectively.

jeûneur

One who fasts, or voluntarily refrains from eating.

jeûneuse

One who fasts, or voluntarily refrains from eating.

jeunot

(figuratively) A youthful or inexperienced person; a novice.

Jézabel

(biblical character) The Phoenician princess and Queen of Ancient Israel who appears in the Old Testament (1 Kings & 2 Kings), and who incited heresy and lured the Jews away from their God and back to idols.

Jezebel

(biblical character) The Phoenician princess and Queen of Ancient Israel who appears in the Old Testament (1 Kings & 2 Kings), and who incited heresy and lured the Jews away from their God and back to idols.

ji

The name of the Latin-script letter J/j.

jingoïsme

(uncountable) Excessive patriotism or aggressive nationalism, especially with regards to foreign policy.

jinn

(Islam) A jinn, a being descended from the jann, normally invisible to the human eye, but who may also appear in animal or human form.

Jn

(biblical) The Gospel of St. John, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the fourth of the four gospels.

joaillerie

Collectively, personal ornamentation such as rings, necklaces, brooches and bracelets, made of precious metals and sometimes set with gemstones.

joaillier

A person whose job is making, repairing or selling jewelry.

joaillière

A person whose job is making, repairing or selling jewelry.

job

An economic role for which a person is paid.

jockey

One who rides racehorses competitively.

jodel

A song incorporating yodelling.

jodler

(transitive, and, intransitive) To sing (a song) in such a way that the voice fluctuates rapidly between the normal chest voice and falsetto.

joggeur

A person who jogs (as exercise).

joggeuse

A person who jogs (as exercise).

jogging

The practice of running at a relatively slow pace for exercise.

Johannesbourg

The largest city in South Africa, in Gauteng province.

joie

Joy; pleasure.

joie de vivre

(figuratively) The quality of enthusiastic or lively expression of feelings and thoughts.

joie maligne

Malicious enjoyment derived from observing someone else's misfortune.

joignable

Within easy reach; accessible

joindre

(transitive) To fasten, to join to (literally and figuratively).

joint

Connected; joined.

jointement

A thin mortar used to fill the gaps between tiles and cavities in masonry.

jointoyer

(transitive) To insert mortar between tiles.

jointure

The point where two components of a structure join rigidly.

jointure du doigt

Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.

joke

An amusing story.