French–English dictionary

soviet

(historical) A workers' council, an institution first formed during the 1905 Russian Revolution and then instituted as the main form of communist government at all levels in the Soviet Union; by extension, a similar organization in early Chinese communism and elsewhere.

Soviétique

A citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

soyeux

Similar in appearance or texture (especially in softness and smoothness) to silk.

Soyouz

Any of a series of Soviet, later Russian spacecraft.

spacieux

Spacious and convenient; roomy and comfortable. [from 16th c.]

spam

(uncountable, rarely, countable, computing, Internet) Unsolicited bulk electronic messages.

spammer

(transitive, intransitive, computing, Internet) To send messages repeatedly, often with disruptive effect; to flood.

Spartacus

A Thracian name, notably borne by a gladiator who was one of the slave leaders in a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.

Sparte

An ancient city-state in southern Greece, noted for its strict military training.

spartiate

Of or relating to Sparta or its citizens.

spasme

A sudden, often uncontrolled movement, especially of the human body.

spasmer

(intransitive) To perform a twitch; spasm.

spasmodique

Of or relating to a spasm; resembling a sudden contraction of the muscles.

spath

(mineralogy) Any crystal with readily discernible faces.

spathique

(geology, mineralogy) Having good cleavage.

spationaute

(informal, childish) An astronaut, often a male astronaut.

spationef

(astronautics) A manned vehicle that flies through space.

spatule

A kitchen utensil shaped like a paddle and used for mixing, beating etc.

speaker

(television) An anchorman or anchorwoman.

speakerine

A female anchorperson.

Spears

An English surname transferred from the nickname.

spécial

Distinguished by a unique, particular, or unusual quality.

spécialement

(manner) In a special manner; specially.

spécialisé

(of tasks, jobs, or the people who do them) Requiring, or having, only minimal levels of training.

spécialiste

(chiefly, US) An expert in a given field; also, a person who is interested in and knowledgeable about a particular activity or thing; an aficionado.

spécialité

An important or main item.

spéciation

(medicine, pathology) The determination of which species are present in a fluid or tissue specimen, bacterial culture, or viral culture.

spéciation chimique

(chemistry) The formation of different (inorganic) species (especially of ions) as the environment changes.

spécieux

Tastelessly gaudy; superficially attractive but having in reality no value or substance; falsely alluring.

spécifié

Thoroughly explained.

spécifier

(transitive, idiomatic) To specify, especially in detail.

spécifique

(toponymy) The distinguishing part of a toponym.

spécifiquement

For a specific purpose or reason.

spectacle

A show or spectacle.

spectaculaire

Striking in appearance or effect.

spectateur

A spectator; someone looks on or watches, without becoming involved or participating.

spectatrice

One who observes, sees, or views something; an observer.

spectre

A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.

spectromètre

(analytical chemistry) An optical instrument for measuring the absorption of light by chemical substances; typically it will plot a graph of absorption versus wavelength or frequency, and the patterns produced are used to identify the substances present, and their internal structure.

spéculateur

(business, finance) One who speculates; as in investing, one who is willing to take volatile risks upon invested principal for the potential of substantial returns.

spéculatif

Characterized by speculation; based on guessing, unfounded opinions, or extrapolation.

speed

(slang, uncountable) Amphetamine or any amphetamine-based drug (especially methamphetamine) used as a stimulant, especially illegally.

spermatozoïde

(countable) The reproductive cell or gamete of the male; a spermatozoon.

sperme

(uncountable) Semen.

sphère

An object which appears to be bounded by a sphere; a round object, a ball. [from 14th c.]

sphérique

Circular or spherical in shape; round.

spin

(quantum mechanics) A quantum angular momentum associated with subatomic particles, which also creates a magnetic moment.

spin-off

(fiction) A fictional work where the protagonist was introduced in a preceding work or at least shares the same setting, often in a different aspect.

spinal

(anatomy, zootomy) Of or relating to the spine.

spirale

(geometry) A curve that is the locus of a point that rotates about a fixed point while continuously increasing its distance from that point.

spiraler

(figuratively, intransitive) To increase continually.

spire

Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.

spiritisme

A philosophical doctrine, established in France in the mid nineteenth century, postulating that humans are essentially immortal spirits that temporarily inhabit physical bodies, and may have influence on the physical world.

spiritualiser

To give a spiritual meaning to; to take in a spiritual sense; opposed to literalize.

spiritualiste

Pertaining to spiritualism; spiritualistic.

spiritualité

Concern for that which is unseen and intangible, as opposed to physical or mundane.

spirituel

Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul.

spiritueux

(chiefly, US, Canada, Australia) Strong alcoholic drink derived from fermentation and distillation; more broadly, any alcoholic drink.

spiro

(transgender slang) Clipping of spironolactone.

spitz

Any of several Nordic breeds of dog such as the Pomeranian or Samoyed.

SPL

(numismatics) Initialism of almost uncirculated.

splanchnique

(medicine) Of, in, near or pertaining to the viscera or intestines.

splendeur

The state of being grand or splendid; magnificence.

splendide

Bright or shining;

splénétique

Bad-tempered, irritable, peevish, spiteful, habitually angry.

splénique

(biology) Related to the spleen.

splif

(slang) A marijuana cigarette.

spliff

(slang, UK, Irish, Commonwealth, Jamaica) A cannabis cigarette.

Split

A port city in Croatia.

spoiler

(transitive) To prematurely reveal major events or the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing ahead of time as a spoiler.

sponsoring

Sponsorship, in means of money, by a company, business or enterprise.

sponsoriser

(transitive) To be a sponsor for.

spontané

Not posed or rehearsed.

spontanéité

(uncountable) The quality of being spontaneous.

spontanément

Right away, immediately, without thinking about it.

spoofer

(transitive, computing) To falsify.

sporadique

(by extension) Characterized by sudden bursts of activity with periods of inactivity in between; intermittent, irregular, unsteady.

spore

A thick resistant particle produced by a bacterium or protist to survive in harsh or unfavorable conditions.

sport

(of clothing or utensils) Designed for informal or everyday use.

sportif

(US, Canada) A person who actively participates in physical sports, especially with great skill; a sportsperson.

sportive

(US, Canada) A person who actively participates in physical sports, especially with great skill; a sportsperson.

sportivité

The behaviour exhibited in playing sports, either good or bad.

spoutnik

(historical) Any of a series of Soviet robotic space satellites, especially the first one in 1957.

Spree

A river in Germany that flows through Lusatia and into Berlin, where it flows into the Havel.

springbok

A small, fast antelope native to southern Africa, Antidorcas marsupialis.

sprint

A short run, flight.

sprinter

(intransitive) To run quickly or for a short distance.

SQ

(law enforcement, Quebec) SQ — Quebec police force — Sûreté du Québec

squame

Hair follicles and dead skin shed from mammals.

squameux

Covered with, made of, or resembling scales; scaly.

square

(printing) A certain number of lines, forming a portion of a column, nearly square; used chiefly in reckoning the prices of advertisements in newspapers.

squat

A building occupied without permission, as practiced by a squatter.

squatter

To sit close to the ground; to stoop, or lie close to the ground, for example to escape observation.

squaw

(now, offensive, ethnic slur) A woman, wife; especially a Native American woman.

squelette

An emaciated person.

ssez

(of adjectives from adjectives, with a diminutive force) Somewhat, rather.

SST

Initialism of occupational health and safety.

ST

To act as a game master (GM) in a tabletop role-playing game, especially any of the games produced by White Wolf.

St.

Abbreviation of Saint.

STA

(plural only) Initialism of English subtitles.

stabilisateur

Any substance added to something in order to stabilize it, as for example a fuel additive that prolongs the shelf life of petrol.

stabilisation

(uncountable) The process of stabilizing.

stabiliser

(intransitive) (of a varying quantity) To reach a stable level after a period of increase; to level off.

stable

Relatively unchanging, steady, permanent; firmly fixed or established; consistent; not easily moved, altered, or destroyed.

stade

A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing.

stage

A job taken by a student in order to learn a profession or trade.

stagflation

(economics) Prolonged high inflation accompanied by stagnant growth, often with recession and high unemployment. [from 1965]

stagiaire

A student or recent graduate who works in order to gain experience in their chosen field.

stagner

(intransitive) To be neglected; to make little progress, be unsuccessful. [from 17th c.]

Stains

A city in Seine-Saint-Denis department, France.

stakhanoviste

Pertaining to a Stakhanovite; heroically hard-working.

stalactite

A drooping, tapering shape of ice.

Staline

A surname from Russian; usually referring to the Georgian revolutionary and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Joseph Stalin.

stalinisme

The Communist philosophies espoused by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

stalle

(countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.

stance

(poetry) A unit of a poem, written or printed as a paragraph; equivalent to a verse.

stand

A small stall for the display and sale of goods.

standard

A level of quality or attainment.

standard téléphonique

(telecommunications) The electronic panel that is used to direct telephone calls to the desired recipient.

standardiser

To make to conform to a standard.

staphylocoque

A spherical gram-positive parasitic bacterium of the genus Staphylococcus, causing blisters, septicemia, and other infections.

star

(acting) An actor in a leading role.

Staré

A village and municipality in okres Michalovce, Košice kraj, eastern Slovakia, first mentioned in 1273.

starlette

A young actress with a promising career ahead of her.

starter

A control on a carburetor to adjust the air/fuel mixture when the engine is cold.

startup

A new company or organization or business venture designed for rapid growth.

station

A place used for broadcasting radio or television; the broadcasting entity itself.

station de traitement d'eau

The water supply system of a district, town, city, or other place, including reservoirs, pipes, and pumps.

station de travail

(computing) A desktop computer, normally more powerful than a normal PC and often dedicated to a specific task, such as graphics.

stationnaire

Not moving.

stationnement

The action of the verb to park.

stationner

(transitive) To bring (something such as a vehicle) to a halt or store in a specified place.

statique

Fixed in position.

statistique

A single item in a statistical study.

statistiques

A systematic collection of data on measurements or observations, often related to demographic information such as population counts, incomes, population counts at different ages, etc.

statu quo

The state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.

statue

A three-dimensional work of art, usually representing a person or animal, usually created by sculpting, carving, molding, or casting.

statuette

A small statue, usually a figure much less than life size, especially when of marble or bronze, or of plaster or clay as a preparation for the marble or bronze, as distinguished from a figure in terra cotta etc.

statuquo

The state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.

statut

A person’s condition, position or standing relative to that of others.

statutaire

Of, relating to, enacted or regulated by a statute.

statuts

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

Ste

Abbreviation of Saint.

Ste.

Abbreviation of Saint.

steak

Beefsteak: a slice of beef, broiled or cut for broiling.

stellaire

(astronomy, notcomp) Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of stars.

stellifier

(transitive, mythology) To transform from an earthly body into a celestial body; to place in the sky as such

sténographe

A clerk, secretary or stenographer, or scribe.

sténographie

A rough and rapid method of writing by substituting symbols for letters, words, etc.

sténose

(medicine, pathology) An abnormal narrowing or stricture in a blood vessel or other tubular organ.