French–English dictionary

ménagère

Someone who manages the running of a home, traditionally the female head of the household. [from 17th c.]

ménagerie

A collection of live wild animals as an exhibition historically associated with the aristocracy and considered a precursor of modern zoos.

ménarche

The onset of menstruation; a girl's first period.

menchevik

(now, chiefly, historical) A member of the gradualist or moderate wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party during the years preceding the Russian Revolution, when they split with the Bolsheviks; or a member of a later independent moderate-Marxist party formed in 1917. [from 20th c.]

Mencius

Chinese philosopher, follower of Confucius (?372 - 289 B.C.E., or 385 - 303/302 B.C.E.)

mendiant

A person who begs.

mendiante

A person who begs.

mendier

(intransitive) To request the help of someone, often in the form of money.

Ménélas

(Greek mythology) The king of Mycenaean Sparta, the husband of Helen of Troy, the brother of Agamemnon, and the leader of the Spartan contingent of the Greek army during the Trojan War.

mener

(countable) The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction, course

mener une campagne

(intransitive) To take part in a campaign.

ménestrel

(historical) Originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.

ménétrier

(historical) Originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.

meneur

(basketball) A guard who is usually the shortest of the five basketball positions, and specializes in handling the ball, distributing it to the other players and generally running the team's offense.

meneur de train

(now, uncommon) One who sets the pace in a race, to guide the others.

menhir

(archaeology) A single tall standing stone as a monument, especially one dating to prehistoric times.

méningite

(pathology) Inflammation of the meninges, characterized by headache, neck stiffness and photophobia and also fever, chills, vomiting and myalgia.

menon

The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck.

ménopause

The final menstrual period of a woman after which ovulation no longer occurs.

menotte

The part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals.

menotter

(transitive) To apply handcuffs to someone.

menottes

A fastening consisting of two metal rings, designed to go around a person's wrists, and connected by a chain or hinge.

mensonge

(countable) A false statement, especially an intentional one; a lie.

menstruation

The periodic discharging of the menses, the flow of blood and cells from the lining of the uterus in unfertilized females of humans and other primates.

menstruel

Of or relating to the menses.

mensuel

(dated) Occurring once a month; monthly.

mensuellement

Every month.

ment

Used to form nouns or noun-like words (or elements of noun phrases) from verbs, denoting the act of doing something, an action, or the embodiment of an action.

mental

(relational) Of or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.

mentalement

In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.

mentalement malade

Having a psychological disorder.

mentalité

A mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.

menterie

A lie or falsehood.

menteur

Someone who cheats.

menteuse

A person who frequently lies; someone who tells a lie.

mention

A harsh scraping or cutting; a grating.

mention « j'aime »

(internet) An individual vote showing support for, approval of, or enjoyment of, something posted on the Internet.

mentionner

To make a short reference to something.

mentir

(intransitive) To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.

menton

The bottom of a face, (specifically) the typically jutting jawline below the mouth.

mentor

(figuratively) That which serves to guide or direct; a guiding star.

menue

(especially of a woman) Fairly short and of slim build.

menuiserie

(uncountable, countable) Something made from wood, especially cabinets and trim#Noun (e.g., baseboards, doorframes) made from millwork.

menuisier

A skilled woodworker who makes high-quality wooden cabinets and furniture.

Méphistophélès

The Devil to whom Faust sold his soul in the legend.

méprendre

To have an incorrect belief, to be mistaken about one's judgment or statement concerning something. (This entry is a translation hub.)

mépris

(uncountable) The state or act of contemning; the feeling or attitude of regarding someone or something as inferior, base, or worthless; scorn, disdain.

méprisable

Of a person: cast down in hope or spirit; showing utter helplessness, hopelessness, or resignation; also, grovelling; ingratiating; servile. [from mid 14th c.]

méprisant

Showing contempt; expressing disdain; showing a lack of respect.

mépriser

(transitive, archaic) To disdain; to value at little or nothing; to treat or regard with contempt.

mer

The ocean; the continuous body of salt water covering a majority of the Earth's surface.

mer.

.

mercantile

(economics) Concerned with the exchange of goods for profit.

mercantilisme

(historical, economics) The theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade, in the manner that a merchant would operate a shop. Typically this model presupposes protectionism.

mercatique

(uncountable) The promotion, distribution and selling of a product or service; the work of a marketer; includes market research and advertising.

Mercedes

Clipping of Mercedes-Benz (“a car manufactured by Mercedes-Benz”).

mercenaire

(historical) A medieval mercenary.

merchandising

(originally, US) The promotion of goods for sale in a store, especially through advertising, attractive displays, discounts, etc.; also (generally) , the promotion of any goods or services for sale.

merci

(Commonwealth, informal) thank you

merci bien

An expression of gratitude, expressing greater gratitude than thank you or thanks.

Mercie

(historical) One of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England.

mercier

A dealer in ribbons, buttons, thread, needles and similar sewing goods.

Merco

Clipping of Mercedes-Benz (“a car manufactured by Mercedes-Benz”).

mercredi

The fourth day of the week in many religious traditions, and the third day of the week in systems using the ISO 8601 norm; it follows Tuesday and precedes Thursday.

mercure

(with definite article) Ambient pressure or temperature (from the use of mercury in barometers and thermometers). [from 17th c.]

mercuriel

(not comparable, chemistry) Of or pertaining to the element mercury or quicksilver; containing mercury. [from 16th c.]

merde

An expression of dismay, disgust, anger, surprise etc.

merde!

(vulgar, colloquial) An expression of anger, surprise, intense excitement or frustration.

merdier

A confused, muddled, or messed-up condition or state; a ridiculously chaotic situation; confusion or chaos regarded as the normal state.

mère

A female parent, especially of a human; a female who parents a child (which she has given birth to, adopted, or fostered).

mère au foyer

(plural "housewives") The wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household.

mère de vinaigre

Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind. (See mother of all.)

mère maquerelle

(slang) A woman who runs a brothel, particularly one that specializes in finding prostitutes for rich and important clients.

méridien

(also, geography) In full terrestrial meridian: a great circle on the Earth's surface, passing through the geographic poles (the terrestrial North Pole and South Pole); also, half of such a circle extending from pole to pole, all points of which have the same longitude. [from 14th c.]

méridional

Of or pertaining to the south; southern.

méritant

Making a fair equivalent of, repaying or compensating.

mérite

(uncountable) Recognition, respect and admiration.

mériter

(transitive) To receive payment for work or for a role or position held (regardless of whether effort was applied or whether the remuneration is deserved or commensurate).

méritocratie

Rule by merit and talent.

merlan

A fish, Merlangius merlangus (family Gadidae), similar to cod, found in the North Atlantic; English whiting (US).

merle

A bird of the species Turdus merula

merle blanc

(figuratively) Any precious or highly valued thing or person.

merle noir

A common true thrush, Turdus merula, found in woods and gardens over much of Eurasia, and introduced elsewhere.

merlebleu

Any of various North American birds of the genus Sialia in the thrush family. Their plumage is blue or blue and red.

merlesse

A common true thrush, Turdus merula, found in woods and gardens over much of Eurasia, and introduced elsewhere.

Merlin

A wizard in the Arthurian legend.

merlot

A dark-blue variety of wine grape.

merlu

One of several species of marine gadoid fishes, of the genera Phycis, Merluccius, and allies.

mérou

Any of various large food and game fishes of the subfamily Epinephelinae, especially the genera Epinephelus and Mycteroperca, which inhabit warm seas.

merrain

(anatomical, informal) The principal stem of the antler of a deer.

merveille

A sweet, crisp pastry in the form of twisted ribbons dusted with confectioner's sugar.

merveilleux

(British spelling) Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful.

mes

Belonging to me.

mes condoléances

Expressing sympathy to someone, especially after learning of a close death.

més-

Bad or wrong; badly or wrongly.

mésalliance

(obsolete) Inequality in marriage; marriage with an inferior.

mésange

A small passerine bird (songbird) of the genus Parus or the family Paridae.

mésaventure

(countable) An undesirable event such as an accident.

mésestimé

Not given enough recognition for its quality.

mésinformation

False information intentionally disseminated to deliberately confuse or mislead; intentional misinformation.

mésinformer

(transitive) To give or deliver false, fake, or misleading information to.

mésinterpréter

To make an incorrect interpretation; to misunderstand.

Mésopotamie

(historical) A geographic region in southwest Asia, spanning from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, located in modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeast Turkey; the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the history of man.

mesquin

Withholding for the sake of meanness; stingy, miserly.

message

A message; the essential data transferred in an act of communication.

messager

One who advertises.

messager serpentaire

A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.

messagerie électronique

(uncountable) A system for sending messages and datas by means of computers connected together in a network.

messe

(Roman Catholic Church) The principal liturgical service of the Church, encompassing both a scripture service (Liturgy of the Word) and a eucharistic service (Liturgy of the Eucharist), which includes the consecration and oblation (offering) of the host and wine.

Messie

(Christianity) Jesus Christ.

messieurs

(chiefly, _, historical) A man of gentle but not noble birth, particularly a man of means (originally ownership of property) who does not work for a living but has no official status in a peerage; (UK, _, law) an armigerous man ranking below a knight.

messin

Of or relating to the city of Metz

Messine

A surname from Italian.

mesure

The space, area, volume, point, or abstract location, to which something extends.

mesure indirecte

(sciences) A measurement of one physical quantity that is used as an indicator of the value of another

mesurer

(transitive) To measure or determine with a gauge; to measure the capacity of.

mésusage

An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something.

métabolique

Of or pertaining to metamorphosis; pertaining to, or involving, change.

métabolisme

(physiology) The chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.

métacognition

(philosophy) the act of thinking about thinking.

métadonnées

Data that describes other data, serving as an informative label.

metal

(music) A category of rock music encompassing a number of genres (including thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, etc.) characterized by strong drumbeats and distorted guitars.

métalisé

(of a color) Having the appearance of being of polished metal.

métallique

Of, relating to, or characteristic of metal.

métallurgie

The science of metals; their extraction from ores, purification and alloying, heat treatment, and working.

métamorphe

(fantasy, mythology, science fiction) A person or creature capable of changing their appearance or form at will.

métamour

(uncommon) In a polyamorous relationship, one's partner's partner, with whom one is not directly involved.

métaphorique

Pertaining to or characterized by a metaphor; figurative; symbolic.

métaphoriquement

(manner) In a metaphorical manner; not literally; by means of metaphor.

métaphysique

Of or pertaining to metaphysics.

métastaser

(intransitive, medicine, of a disease or tumor) To spread to other sites in the body; to undergo metastasis.

métavers

(science fiction, Internet, computing) A hypothetical future (counterpart or continuation of the) Internet, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space.

metche

A device made of wood or paper, having the tip coated with chemicals that ignite with the friction of being dragged (struck) against a rough dry surface.

métempsycose

Transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. [from 16th c.]

météo

The short term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.

météore

A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star. [from 16th c.]

météorique

Of, pertaining to, or originating from a meteor.

météorisation

(geology) Mechanical or chemical breaking down of rocks in situ by weather or other causes.

météoriser

(intransitive, veterinary medicine) To get an overdistended rumen, talking of a ruminant.

météorisme

(veterinary medicine) Pathological overdistention of rumen with gas in a ruminant.

météorite

A metallic or stony object or body that is the remains of a meteoroid.

météoroïde

(astronomy) A relatively small (sand- to boulder-sized) fragment of debris in a star system that produces a meteor when it hits the atmosphere

météorologie

The science that deals with the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena, especially with weather and weather forecasting.

météorologique

Of or pertaining to meteorology.

météorologue

A person who forecasts the weather.

méthadone

(pharmaceutical drug) A powerful synthetic analgesic drug which is similar to morphine in its effects but less sedative and is used as a substitute drug in the treatment of morphine and heroin addiction.

méthamphétamine

A highly addictive phenethylamine stimulant drug. Its systematic (IUPAC) name is (S)-N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine.

méthane

(organic compound, uncountable) The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.

méthanol

(organic compound) The simplest aliphatic alcohol, CH3OH; a colourless, toxic, inflammable liquid, used as a solvent, antifreeze, in the chemical industry, and in the preparation of methylated spirit.

Méthode

A en given name, notably of the Byzantine Christian theologian and missionary.