French–English dictionary

négrière

A person engaged in the slave trade; a person who buys, sells, transports, or owns slaves.

négus

(historical) A ruler of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), or of a province of Ethiopia; specifically, the king of Ethiopia before 1974.

neige

(physics, astronomy) Any frozen volatile chemical, such as ammonia or carbon dioxide.

neige fondue

Half-melted snow or ice, generally located on the ground.

neige roulée

(uncountable) A precipitation that forms when supercooled droplets of water condense on a snowflake.

neiger

(intransitive, impersonal) Preceded by the dummy subject it: to have snow (noun sense 1) fall from the atmosphere.

neigeux

Snowy; covered with snow.

Némésis

(Greek god) The goddess of divine retribution.

Nemrod

(biblical character) A grandson of Ham; a mighty hunter and king of Shinar.

néné

(colloquial, slang) A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent female human.

Néo

A en given name.

néo-norvégien

Nynorsk; Norwegian as spoken after 1500, and the written language that is based on this

néolithique

Of or relating to the New Stone Age.

néon

(countable) A form or sample of the element.

néophyte

(Internet) A new user or participant; someone who is extremely new and inexperienced (to a game or activity). A beginner.

néoplasme

(pathology, oncology) An abnormal new growth of disorganized tissue in animals or plants.

Népal

A country in South Asia, located between China and India. Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Capital and largest city: Kathmandu.

néphaliste

(American spelling) A person who completely abstains from alcoholic beverages.

néphrite

(mineral) A semi-precious stone, one of the two types of stone commonly referred to as jade (the other being jadeite).

népotisme

The favoring of relatives (most strictly) or also personal friends (more broadly) because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities.

neptunien

(geology, historical) A proponent of Neptunism.

neptunienne

(geology, historical) A proponent of Neptunism.

neptuniste

A proponent of Neptunism.

nerd

(slang, sometimes, _, derogatory) A person who is intellectual but generally introverted.

nerf de bœuf

A baton made from the penis of an ox, once used to beat men and animals.

nerfer

(transitive, slang) To arbitrarily limit or reduce the capability of.

Néron

Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

nerveusement

In a nervous manner; feeling or displaying nervousness.

nerveux

Nervous and excited.

nervosité

The state or quality of being nervous.

nervure

(botany) A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood.

nestorianisme

(Christianity) The Christological doctrine ascribed to Nestorius, condemned as heretical by the Council of Ephesus but later also ascribed to the Church of the East, holding that within Christ there are two distinct hypostases, divine and human.

net

Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled.

netbook

(computing) An economical notebook computer able to access the Internet.

netflixer

(transitive, Internet, informal) To watch (a film or TV series) using the Internet streaming media provider Netflix. [from the 2000s]

nettement

In a marked manner; distinctly, noticeably, conspicuously.

netteté

The state of being neat.

nettoyage

The act of cleaning or tidying something; the act of finishing something off.

nettoyant

A substance used for cleaning; especially, one retailed for that purpose and meant for use on things other than one's own body.

nettoyer

(transitive) To remove dirt from a place or object.

nettoyeur

A person whose occupation is to clean things, especially rooms, floors, and windows.

nettoyeuse

(chiefly, British) A woman employed to do housework, traditionally coming and going on a daily basis and paid weekly wages.

Neuchâtel

A city in McClain County, Oklahoma, United States; a suburb of Oklahoma City.

neuf

A numerical value equal to 9; the number following eight and preceding ten.

neuneu

(derogatory, slang) A stupid or foolish person.

neural

(biology) Of, or relating to the nerves, neurons or the nervous system.

neurochirurgien

Someone who does brain surgery.

neurochirurgienne

A surgeon specializing in brain surgery.

neuroimagerie

(neurology) The generation of images showing activity in the nervous system, usually and especially brain activity. [from 20th c.]

neurologie

The branch of medicine that deals with the disorders of nervous system including the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system and the nerves, muscles, and neuromuscular junction of the peripheral nervous system.

neurologique

Dealing with neurology, the study of the nervous system or the health care specialty that provides care for it.

neurologiste

A doctor or scientist who practices or specializes in neurology.

neurologue

A doctor or scientist who practices or specializes in neurology.

neurone

(cytology) A cell of the nervous system which conducts nerve impulses; a neuron.

neuropsychologie

A branch of neurology and of clinical psychology that investigates the physiological basis of psychological processes.

neuroscience

The scientific study of the nervous system.

neurotoxine

(neuroscience, toxicology, pharmaceutical drug) A toxin that specifically acts upon neurons, their synapses, or the nervous system in its entirety.

neutraliser

(transitive) To offset or equalize something.

neutralité

The state or quality of being neutral; the condition of being unengaged in contests between others; state of taking no part on either side.

neutre

(now, uncommon) Neutral; on neither side; neither one thing nor another.

neutrino

An elementary particle that is classified as a lepton, and has an extremely small but nonzero mass and no electric charge. It interacts with the surroundings only via the weak force or gravitation, making it very difficult to detect.

neutron

(particle) A subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and having no charge; it is a combination of an up quark and two down quarks.

neuvième

The ordinal form of the number nine.

Nevada

A state in the western United States. Capital: Carson City. Largest city: Las Vegas.

névasse

Half-melted snow or ice, generally located on the ground.

névé

A type of old snow which has gone through multiple thaw and refreeze cycles and thus is made of numerous small icy grains, though it is not nearly as saturated with water as snowcone slush is; can be hard or somewhat soft depending on recent and current weather conditions.

neveu

A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).

névralgie

(pathology, neurology) An acute, severe, intermittent pain that radiates along a nerve.

névrose

(dated, pathology, ;, current in, _, psychology, and) A mental disorder, less severe than psychosis, marked by anxiety or fear which differ from normal measures by their intensity, which disorder results from a failure to compromise or properly adjust during the developmental stages of life, between normal human instinctual impulses and the demands of human society. [from the 1700s]

névrotique

(informal) Overly anxious.

New Jersey

(US, informal, especially following north or south) New Jersey.

newton

In the International System of Units, the derived unit of force; the force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram by one metre per second per second.

nexus

A form or state of connection.

ney

(music) A type of endblown flute.

nez

The skill in recognising bouquet.

NG

(Internet) Initialism of newsgroup.

Nguyen

A Vietnamese surname.

ni X ni Y

Not either (used with nor).

niais

(informal) Overdramatic, excessively emotional or clichéd, trite, contrived.

niaiser

(transitive, colloquial) To mock or make a fool of (someone) in a playful way.

niaiserie

Foolish behaviour or speech.

nibard

(colloquial, or, childish) A breast.

nibble

(computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or chiefly four bits.

Nicaragua

A country in Central America. Official name: Republic of Nicaragua. Capitalː Managua.

Nice

A coastal city, the capital of Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeast France.

niche

A house or shelter for a dog.

nichée

A group or bunch (of people or things). [from 20th c.]

nicher

(intransitive, of animals) To build or settle into a nest.

nichoir

A small house for birds.

nichon

(colloquial, slang) A breast, especially that of an adult or adolescent female human.

nickel

(uncountable) A silvery elemental metal with an atomic number of 28 and symbol Ni.

nickeler

(transitive) To plate with nickel.

Nico

A en given name.

Nicodème

A Pharisee, a secret follower of Jesus in the New Testament.

Nicolas

A en given name.

Nicole

A en given name.

nid

(geology, mining) An unusual concentration of ore in a lode or a small, discontinuous occurrence or patch of ore in the wallrock.

nid à rats

A particularly squalid human residence or other place.

nidification

The process by which a bird nests.

nidifier

(intransitive, of animals) To build or settle into a nest.

nièce

A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").

nier

(transitive) To assert that something is not true.

nietzschéen

Of, pertaining to or characteristic of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), German philosopher, or his writings.

nietzschéenne

A supporter of the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche.

nigaud

(derogatory) A foolish or silly person. [from 16th c.]

Nigeria

A country in West Africa, south of the country of Niger. Official name: Federal Republic of Nigeria. Capital: Abuja. Largest city: Lagos. Currency: naira (₦).

nigérian

Of, from, or pertaining to Nigeria, the Nigerian people or culture.

Nigériane

A person from Nigeria or of Nigerian descent.

nigérien

Of, from, or pertaining to Nigeria, the Nigerian people or culture.

Nigérienne

A person from Niger or of Nigerien descent.

nihilisme

(Russia, politics, historical) A movement of the 1860s that rejected all authority and promoted the use of violence for political change.

nihiliste

(philosophy, religion) A person who accepts or champions nihilism.

Niké

(Greek god) The goddess of victory and triumph; Athena's companion.

Nil

A large river in Africa flowing through Khartoum and Cairo into the Mediterranean Sea, usually considered to be the longest river in the world.

nimbe

(religion) nimbus, a luminous disc, often of gold, around or over the heads of saints, etc., in religious paintings.

nimbus

A circle of light; a halo.

Nina

A en given name in continuous use since the 19th century.

ninja

(martial arts) A person trained in ninjutsu, especially (historical) one used for espionage, assassination, and other tasks requiring stealth during Japan's shogunate period.

Nintendo

(video games) A Nintendo Entertainment System, or other video game system made by Nintendo.

NIP

Acronym of personal identification number.

Nippon

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

Nippone

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

niqué

(computing, slang) Incorrect, useless, or broken.

niquer

(slang, ambitransitive, vulgar) To engage in sexual intercourse.

nirvana

(Buddhism) Complete cessation of dukkha; a blissful state attained through realization of sunyata; enlightened experience.

nitrate

(chemistry) Any salt or ester of nitric acid.

nitrater

To treat, or react, with nitric acid or a nitrate

nitreux

(chemistry) Of, relating to, or derived from nitrogen, especially in which the valence of the nitrogen is lower than that of a corresponding nitric species. [from 17th c.]

nitrile

(organic compound) Any of a class of organic compounds containing a cyano functional group −C≡N; they are named as derivatives of the appropriate carboxylic acid.

nitrique

Of, pertaining to, or containing, nitrogen.

niveau

(North America, Philippines, education) A level of primary and secondary education.

niveau de langue

(This entry is a translation hub.)

niveler

(transitive, obsolete) To place in an equal state, as to obligation, or in a state in which nothing is due on either side; to balance, as accounts; to make quits.

niveleuse

A machine used to sort food by size or quality.

nix

A treacherous water-spirit

nixe

A treacherous water-spirit

NKVD

The People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs — the Soviet interior ministry known for its secret police, forerunner of the KGB

nº

Abbreviation of number.

Noa

A en given name.

Noah

A en given name.

noble

Having honorable qualities; having moral eminence and freedom from anything petty, mean or dubious in conduct and character.

noblement

In a noble manner.

nobliau

An aristocrat; one of aristocratic blood. [from 14th c.]

noces

A wedding ceremony. [from mid 16th c.]

nocif

Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.

nocivité

The characteristic of being harmful.

nodule

(medicine, dermatology) A rounded mass or irregular shape; a small knot or lump.

Noé

A en given name.

Noël

(originally, Christianity) A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places.

Noémi

(biblical character) The mother-in-law of the Biblical figure Ruth.