French–English dictionary

Ariane

(Greek mythology) The daughter of King Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasiphae.

arianisme

(Christianity) A Christological doctrine, condemned as heretical by the First Council of Nicaea, which holds that Jesus was created by God, rather than being God himself.

aride

Very dry.

Ariel

(astronomy) The brightest moon of the planet Uranus.

Arien

(theosophy, Germanic, _, mysticism, Nazism) A member of a race defined variously as comprising people of Germanic descent, in the narrowest sense, or all non-Jewish Caucasians, in the broadest sense

arigato

(colloquial) Thank you (used in the context of, or to evoke, Japanese culture).

aristocrate

One of the aristocracy, nobility, or people of rank in a community; one of a ruling class; a noble (originally in Revolutionary France).

aristocratique

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

Aristote

An ancient Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist (382–322 BCE), student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

arithmétique

(arithmetic) Of a progression, mean, etc, computed solely using addition.

arlequin

A pantomime fool, typically dressed in colorful checkered clothes, used as a stock character in commedia dell'arte and other genres.

armada

A fleet of warships, especially with reference to the Spanish Armada.

Armageddon

(Christianity, Islam) Mount Megiddo, the site of a prophesied final battle between the forces of good and evil.

Armand

A en given name.

armature

(bowling) A set of balls whose results are added together for scoring purposes. Usually two balls, but only one ball in the case of a strike, and three balls in the case of a strike or a spare in the last frame of a game.

arme

(usually used in the plural) A weapon.

arme à feu

A personal weapon that uses explosive powder to propel a projectile often made of lead.

armée

A multitude of people arrayed as an army; used also in religious senses, as: Heavenly host (of angels)

armement

Weapons collectively

Arménie

(historical) Ancient kingdom in the Armenian Highland southeast of Black Sea and southwest of Caspian Sea; area now divided between Turkey, Republic of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran.

arménien

Of, from, or pertaining to Armenia, the Armenian people, the Armenian language, or the Armenian alphabet.

Arménienne

A person from Armenia or of Armenian descent.

armer

(cricket, of a, batsman) To take a few steps down the pitch towards the bowler as they deliver the ball, either to disrupt the length of the delivery, or to get into a better position to hit the ball.

armérie

(countable) Any of various plants of the genus Armeria, particularly Armeria maritima.

armes parlantes

(countable, heraldry) A blazon of a coat of arms that makes a pun upon the name (or, less often, some attribute or function) of the bearer, canting arms.

armistice

(countable, military) A formal agreement, especially between nations, to end combat.

armoire

A storage closet either separate from, or built into, a wall.

armoire à glace

(bodybuilding) A man with developed muscles.

armoiries

Heraldry.

armoise

The herb absinthium Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood); essence of wormwood. [from 1350–1470]

armure

(uncountable) A protective layer over a body, vehicle, or other object intended to deflect or diffuse damaging forces.

armure d'écailles

Scale mail (as opposed to chain mail).

armure de plates

(historical) Plate armor.

armurier

A member of the military who specializes in manufacturing and repairing weapon systems.

arnaque

(informal) A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

arnaquer

(transitive) To obtain money or property from (a person) by fraud; to swindle.

arnaqueur

A person who uses confidence tricks to defraud or swindle people after first gaining their trust with a series of confidence games; a scam operator, confidence trickster.

Arnaud

A en given name brought to England by Normans.

Arno

A river in Tuscany that flows through Pisa and Florence.

aromate

A fragrant plant or spice added to a dish to flavour it.

aromathérapie

(alternative medicine) The use of selected fragrances in lotions and inhalants in an effort to affect mood and promote health.

aromatique

Fragrant or spicy.

arôme

A smell; especially a pleasant spicy or fragrant one.

arpentage

The act of surveying; a general view.

arpenter

To walk back and forth in a small distance.

arpenteur

a professional who measures land, delineates property boundaries, etc.

arpenteuse

A person occupied with surveying: the process of determining positions on the earth's surface.

arque

leading, leader

arraché

(weightlifting) A competitive weightlifting event in which a barbell is lifted from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement.

arracher

(transitive) To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive.

arrangement

The act of arranging.

arranger

(transitive) To set up; to organize; to put into an orderly sequence or arrangement.

Arras

A city, the capital of Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France, France, the historic centre of the Artois region

arrestation

(legal) The process of arresting a criminal, suspect etc.

arrêt

A choice or judgement.

arrêt-court

(baseball) The infield defensive player that stands between the second baseman and the third baseman.

arrêté

A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization (e.g., corporation or business).

arrêter

(law enforcement) To seize or take (a person) by legal process; to arrest.

arrêtoir

A part of a mechanism that catches or retains another part, for example the part of a door lock that fits in the frame and receives the bolt.

arrhes

(legal, historical) Money or some other valuable item given to evidence a contract; a pledge or earnest.

arrière

located at the back of a boat, ship, or airplane

arrière-cour

(AU, Canadian, NZ, US) A yard to the rear of a house or similar residence.

arrière-cuisine

(archaic) A small room, next to a kitchen, where washing up and other domestic chores are done.

arrière-garde

(obsolete) The rearguard of an army or other force.

arrière-goût

The persistence of the taste of something no longer present.

arrière-monde

A conscious existence after death; a supernatural life that follows one's natural life, in some worldviews.

arrière-pays

An area located outside of towns and cities; an area that is not urban or suburban; a rural area.

arrière-plan

(computing) That part of a hardware or software system that is farthest from the user; the internals rather than the user interface.

arrière-train

(euphemism) The buttocks or anus. [1794]

arriser

(nautical) To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.

arrivant

A person who has arrived; a thing that has arrived.

arrivante

A person who has arrived; a thing that has arrived.

arrivé à maturité

(of foods) Advanced to the state of fitness for use; mellow.

arrivée

To arrive or begin, especially at the first coming or appearance of something.

arriver

(intransitive, copulative) To reach; to get to a certain place.

arriver à

(transitive) To befall; to happen to; to come upon.

arriver à échéance

(of a debt, loan, rent, etc.) To reach its due date for payment, or repayment.

arriver à maturité

(transitive) To mature; to fit or prepare; to bring to perfection

arriviste

(pejorative) New money; wealthy persons whose fortunes are newly acquired, and who are therefore perceived to lack the refinement of those who were raised wealthy.

arrogance

The state of being arrogant; a type of extreme or foolish pride in which someone feels much superior to another.

arrogant

Having excessive pride in oneself, often with contempt or disrespect for others.

arrondi

(aviation) The transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.

arrondir

(transitive) To bend something into a hump.

arrondissement

An administrative division in some French- or Dutch-speaking countries.

arrondissement de commune

(US, law enforcement) A subdivision of a city under the jurisdiction of a specific group of police; the police station situated in that district.

arrosage

An act of watering, i.e. pouring water on something, or diluting a liquid.

arroser

(ambitransitive, also, figurative) To move (a beam of light, a glance with the eyes, etc.) across (something) with a long side-to-side motion; specifically (often, military) to use a weapon to fire at (something) with a side-to-side motion; to spray with gunfire.

arroseur

An irrigation device that sprays water into the air whilst moving back and forth.

arrosoir

A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).

arsenal

A place where arms are kept, an arsenal.

arsenic

A toxic grey brittle nonmetallic chemical element (symbol As) with an atomic number of 33.

arsouille

A habitual drinker, especially one who is frequently intoxicated.

art

(uncountable) Artwork.

art culinaire

(uncountable) The style or genre of food preparation.

Artagnan

A commune of Vic-en-Bigorre canton, Tarbes arrondissement, Hautes-Pyrénées department, Occitania, France.

Artaxerxès

(historical) The name of several Achaemenid kings of Persia.

artefact

Something viewed as a product of human agency or conception rather than an inherent element.

Artémis

(Greek god) The Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and wilderness; the daughter of Leto and Zeus; the sister of Apollo. (Compare Diana.)

artère

A road open at both ends or connecting one area with another; a highway or main street.

artériel

Of or relating to an artery.

arthrite

Inflammation of a joint or joints causing pain and/or disability, swelling and stiffness, and due to various causes such as infection, trauma, degenerative changes or metabolic disorders: any of several disease entities.

Arthur

A en given name.

artichaut

(countable) A plant related to the thistle with enlarged flower heads eaten as a vegetable while immature, Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus.

artichaut à cardes

Any of species Cynara cardunculus of prickly perennial plants which has leaf stalks eaten as a vegetable, related to the artichoke.

article

An item in a list, such as an article in a dictionary or encyclopedia.

article de second choix

(usually, in the plural) A manufactured item that, though still usable, fails to meet quality control standards.

articulaire

(anatomy) Of, at, or relating to the joints of the body.

articulation

The point where two components of a structure join, but are still able to rotate.

articulation du doigt

Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.

articulé

(obsolete) Expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars.

articuler

(transitive) To explain; to put into words; to make something specific.

artifice

A crafty but underhanded deception.

artificiel

Not real; false, fraudulent.

artificielle

Artificial, acting as a substitute for part of the body; relating to prosthesis.

artificiellement

In an artificial manner.

artificier

A member of the military who specializes in manufacturing and repairing weapon systems.

artificieux

(especially) Skilful at using dishonest or unfair means to achieve a purpose; crafty, cunning.

artillerie

An army unit that uses such weapons, or a military formation using projectile weapons, such as archers.

artilleur

(military) A soldier enlisted in an artillery unit or who uses artillery.

artiodactyle

(zoology) Any ungulate mammal with an even number of toes and belonging to the Artiodactyla, including pigs, sheep, deer, cattle, and most grazing animals. In contrast, horses have an odd number of toes and as such are not Artiodactyla, but Perissodactyla. [from 19th c.]

artisan

A skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft.

artisanal

Made by hand or using the hands, as opposed to by mass production or using machinery.

artisanat

The class of artisans or skilled manual workers, collectively.

artisane

A skilled manual worker who uses tools and machinery in a particular craft.

artiste

One who performs for, or entertains, an audience.

artiste peintre

An artist who paints pictures.

artistement

In an artistic manner.

artistique

Exhibiting or using much art or skill; dexterous; skilful.

artistiquement

In an artistic manner.

Aruba

An island, dependent territory, and constituent country of the Netherlands, in the Caribbean Sea.

Aryen

(theosophy, Germanic, _, mysticism, Nazism) A member of a race defined variously as comprising people of Germanic descent, in the narrowest sense, or all non-Jewish Caucasians, in the broadest sense

Aryenne

(theosophy, Germanic, _, mysticism, Nazism) A member of a race defined variously as comprising people of Germanic descent, in the narrowest sense, or all non-Jewish Caucasians, in the broadest sense

as

(dice) A die face marked with a single dot, typically representing the number one.

as de la gâchette

(historical) A person in the Old West who carried a gun and was an expert at quickly drawing it and firing.

asbeste

(mineral) Any of several fibrous mineral forms of magnesium silicate, used for fireproofing, electrical insulation, building materials, brake linings, chemical filters, suits, fireman's gloves, etc.

Asbestos

Former name of Val des Sources: a town in Asbestos, Estrie, Quebec, Canada.

ASBL

Initialism of w:nonprofit organization.

ASC

(Canada, spaceflight) Initialism of w:Canadian Space Agency.

ascendance

Birth to a noble or high-ranking family, or to someone of honorable descent.

ascendant

An ancestor.

ascenseur

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, puristic, _, elsewhere) Mechanical device for vertically transporting goods or people between floors in a building.

Ascension

(Christianity, specifically) The believed entry of Jesus Christ into heaven after his resurrection.

ascèse

(Rigorous) self-discipline, particularly as a religious observance; asceticism.

ascète

One who is devoted to the practice of self-denial, either through seclusion or stringent abstinence.

ascétique

Of or relating to ascetics.

ascétisme

The principles and practices of an ascetic; extreme self-denial and austerity.

aseptisé

Wavering; lacking in commitment, certainty, support, and (often) clarity; namby-pamby.

Aser

(biblical character) The eighth son of Jacob, by his wife's handmaid Zilpah.

asexué

(biology) Having no sex; neuter.

asexuel

(especially, of a person) Not experiencing sexual attraction; lacking interest in or desire for sex.