French–English dictionary

caldera

(vulcanology) A large crater formed by collapse of the cone or edifice of a volcano.

cale

(nautical) A hold on a ship (including the forehold and stern hold), used to store cargo during a voyage.

cale avant

(nautical) A hold on a ship (including the forehold and stern hold), used to store cargo during a voyage.

cale d'épaisseur

A thin piece of material, sometimes tapered, used for alignment or support.

cale-porte

Any device or object used to halt the motion of a door, as a large or heavy object, a wedge, or some piece of hardware fixed to the floor, door or wall.

Caleb

(Biblical) Caleb the son of Jephunneh, an Israelite who entered Canaan with Joshua.

calèche

A small horse-drawn cart.

caleçon

Shorts worn as underwear by men.

caléidoscope

An instrument consisting of a tube containing mirrors and loose, colourful beads or other objects; when the tube is looked into and rotated, a succession of symmetrical designs can be seen. [from 1817]

calembour

A joke or type of wordplay in which similar definitions or sounds of two words or phrases, or different definitions of the same word, are deliberately confused.

calembredaines

Senseless talk or writing; nonsense.

calendrier

A list of planned events.

calepin

(computing, sometimes, attributive) A kind of user interface in literate programming, allowing calculations to be interspersed with human-readable comments, diagrams, etc.

caler

(transitive, colloquial) To drink a large amount (especially of beer) in a single action/without breathing; to chugalug. Usually chanted at the person who is drinking.

calfater

To apply caulking to joints, cracks, or a juncture of different materials.

calfeutrer

To apply caulking to joints, cracks, or a juncture of different materials.

Calgary

The largest city in Alberta, Canada.

calibrage

(technology) The act of calibrating something.

calibre

Unit of measure used to express the length of the bore of a weapon. The number of calibres is determined by dividing the length of the bore of the weapon, from the breech face of the tube to the muzzle, by the diameter of its bore. A gun tube the bore of which is 40 feet (480 inches) long and 12 inches in diameter is said to be 40 calibers long.

calibrer

(technology) To check or adjust by comparison with a standard.

calice

(botany) The outermost whorl of flower parts, comprising the sepals, which covers and protects the petals as they develop.

calico

(countable) Ellipsis of calico cat.

calicot

(textiles) A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.

calier

(nautical) One who is employed in the hold of a vessel.

califat

Monarchical government based on a claim of succession to the Islamic State of Muhammad, ruled by a caliph.

calife

The holder of a monarchical title based on a claim to be a successor of Muhammad.

Californie

The most populous state of the United States. Capital: Sacramento. Largest city: Los Angeles.

californien

Of or relating to California.

Californienne

A native or resident of the state of California in the United States of America.

câlin

(UK) An affectionate embrace, a hug, such as is given to family members and close friends (less intimate than a snuggle, and typically of shorter duration).

câliner

(US, intransitive, transitive) To lie together snugly (with someone), in an intimate physical embrace; to snuggle.

calla

A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.

calla des marais

A marsh plant native to cooler areas throughout the northern hemisphere, Calla palustris, having pale green flowers in a white spathe.

caller l'orignal

(colloquial, ambitransitive) To vomit; to throw up; to eject from the stomach.

calleux

(literal) Having calluses, or relating to calluses.

Calliope

(Greek god) The Muse of eloquence and epic or heroic poetry; the mother of Orpheus with Apollo.

callipyge

Having beautifully shaped buttocks.

callisthénie

(in the plural) Physical exercises with the participation of a multitude of muscles and often minimal equipment (thus, usually bodyweight exercises); strength training aspects and cardio aspects are both involved, and stamina is often a focus.

callune

A plant in the family Ericaceae.

calmant

(figuratively) A source of relaxation or comfort.

calme

(of a place or situation) Free of noise and disturbance.

calme plat

(meteorology) The absense of wind; a period of time without wind.

calmer

(transitive) To reduce or lessen the severity of a pain or difficulty.

calomnie

(uncountable) Falsifications or misrepresentations intended to disparage or discredit another.

calomnier

To make spiteful slanderous or defamatory statements about someone.

calomnieux

Possessing the traits of calumny.

calotte

(geometry) A portion of a spherical or other convex surface.

calque

(linguistics, translation studies) A word or phrase in a language formed by word-for-word or morpheme-by-morpheme translation of a word in another language.

calquer

(linguistics, translation studies, transitive) To adopt (a word or phrase) from one language to another by semantic translation of its parts.

Calvaire

The hill outside Jerusalem which is traditionally held to be the location of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Calvin

A surname from French or Spanish, notably borne by John Calvin, French Protestant theologian.

calvitie

An area on the head which, due to hair loss, has little or no hair.

Calypso

(Greek god) A sea nymph who entertained Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years.

calzone

A baked Italian turnover made of pizza dough and stuffed with tomato, cheese and other toppings.

cam

(computing, photography) A video camera whose output may be viewed in real time over a computer network, originally the World Wide Web.

camaïeu

A piece of jewelry, etc., carved in relief.

camarade

(Maritime English) A person far removed from the conversation.

camarade de chambre

A person with whom one shares a room, as in a dormitory, barracks, rooming house, or apartment.

camarade de chambrée

A person with whom one shares a room, as in a dormitory, barracks, rooming house, or apartment.

camaraderie

The state of having or being a companion.

camarde

The personification of death, often a skeleton with a scythe, and one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Cambodge

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Kingdom of Cambodia. Capital: Phnom Penh. Former name: Kampuchea.

cambodgien

of, from, or pertaining to Cambodia, the Cambodian people, or the Khmer language

Cambodgienne

(countable) a person from Cambodia or of Cambodian descent

cambrer

(transitive) To form into an arch shape.

cambriolage

The action of irrupting or breaking into; a violent entry or invasion; an inbreaking; an intrusion.

cambrioler

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) To commit burglary. [from 1867]

cambuse

(nautical) The cookroom or kitchen and cooking apparatus of a vessel or aircraft; sometimes on merchant vessels called the caboose.

came

(slang) Any narcotic drug, especially heroin.

camée

A piece of jewelry, etc., carved in relief.

Caméléon

(constellation) A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, imagined to resemble a chameleon, which lies south of the constellations Carina and Musca.

camélia

Any plant of the genus Camellia, shrubs and small trees native to Asia; Camellia japonica is the most popular as a garden plant; Camellia sinensis is the tea plant.

Camelot

(Arthurian mythology) A mythical location in England. The stronghold of King Arthur in the Arthurian legend.

camelote

(colloquial, US) Any commodity that is shoddy or inferior; now, usually, writing or audiovisual content that is shoddy or inferior.

camembert

A soft, creamy cheese from France made from cow's milk.

caméo

A single very brief appearance, especially by a prominent celebrity in a movie or song.

caméra

(photography) A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.

caméra vidéo

A camera recorder: a portable electronic device for recording images and audio on to a storage device, hence functioning as a camera and a recorder in a single unit.

caméraman

Somebody who operates a movie camera or television camera.

Cameroun

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Cameroon. Capital: Yaoundé. It also claims Ambazonia.

caméscope

A camera recorder: a portable electronic device for recording images and audio on to a storage device, hence functioning as a camera and a recorder in a single unit.

Camille

A en given name.

camion

(countable, uncountable, US, Canada, Australia) A heavier motor vehicle designed to carry goods or to pull a semi-trailer designed to carry goods; (in Malaysia/Singapore) a such vehicle with a closed or covered carriage.

camion-citerne

A road vehicle (often a trailer) for the transport of liquid fuel, particularly aviation fuel at an airfield.

camionnette

A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus.

camionneur

A person or company engaged in the haulage of goods.

camionneuse

(slang, LGBTQ, countable) A lesbian who appears masculine or acts in a masculine manner.

camisole de force

A jacket-like garment with very long sleeves which can be secured in place, thus preventing the wearer from moving his or her arms. Often used in psychiatric hospitals to prevent patients from injuring themselves or others.

camorra

A secret crime organization from Naples, Italy, equivalent to the Mafia of Sicily.

camouflage

A disguise or covering up.

camoufler

(transitive) To hide or disguise something by covering it up or changing its appearance.

camouflet

A deliberate affront or slight.

camp

An affected, exaggerated, or intentionally tasteless style.

campagnard

From or in the countryside, connected with it, or typical of it.

campagnarde

A man who is a country dweller, especially a follower of country pursuits.

campagne

A series of operations undertaken to achieve a set goal.

campagnol

Any of a large number of species of small rodents of the tribes Arvicolini, Ellobiusini, Clethrionomyini, Pliomyini, Phenacomyini and Prometheomyini.

campament

A base of a military group, not necessarily temporary.

campanile

A bell tower (especially one that is freestanding), often associated with a church or other public building, especially in Italy.

campement

A place where one or more tents may be pitched for an overnight stay in an outdoor area.

camper

To set up a camp.

camphre

(organic compound) A white transparent waxy crystalline isoprenoid ketone, 1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one, with a strong pungent odour, used in pharmacy, also known as laurel camphor or common/ordinary camphor.

camping

(uncountable) The recreational or educational activity of temporarily living in a tent or similar accommodation.

campisme

(uncountable) The recreational or educational activity of temporarily living in a tent or similar accommodation.

campo

A land area free of woodland, cities, and towns; an area of open country.

campus

The grounds or property of a school, college, university, business, church, or hospital, often understood to include buildings and other structures.

Camus

A surname from French.

Canada

A country in North America. Capital: Ottawa. Largest city: Toronto.

canadien

Of, belonging to, or relating to Canada, its culture, or people.

canaille

Sometimes diminutive: a cheeky person or creature; a troublemaker.

canal

(figurative) A means by which something is transmitted.

canalisation

A pipe, tube or canal which carries gas or liquid from one place to another

canaliser

(transitive) To direct or guide along a desired course.

canapé

(North America, Australia, Ireland) An item of furniture, often upholstered, for the comfortable seating of more than one person; a sofa.

canard

A false or misleading report or story, especially if deliberately so.

canard colvert

(countable) Anas platyrhynchos, a common and widespread dabbling duck, natively found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, whose male has a distinctive dark green head.

canard femelle

Specifically, an adult female duck; contrasted with drake and with duckling.

canard mâle

A male duck.

canard sauvage

(countable) Anas platyrhynchos, a common and widespread dabbling duck, natively found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, whose male has a distinctive dark green head.

canardeau

A young duck.

Canardville

A fictional city, located in the fictional US state of Calisota, that serves as the home of Donald Duck, his surrounding cast, and several other anthropomorphic animals.

canasson

An old, useless horse.

Canberra

The capital city of Australia; located in the Australian Capital Territory.

cancan

(dances) A high-kicking chorus line dance originating in France.

cancaner

(intransitive) To talk about someone else's private or personal business, especially in a manner that spreads the information.

Cancer

Someone with a Cancer star sign.

cancéreux

(oncology) Relating to or affected with cancer.

cancre

(colloquial) A stupid person.

candela

In the International System of Units, the base unit of luminous intensity; the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 × 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. Symbol: cd

candélabre

A candle holder with branches to hold more than one candle.

candeur

The state of being sincere and open in speech; honesty in expression. [from c. 1600]

candidat

One who applies for something; one who makes a request; a petitioner.

candidate

(originally, jargon) A participant in an examination. [from 1690s]

candidater

To stand as a candidate for an office, typically for a religious one. [from 1840s]

candidature

A verbal or written request for assistance or employment or admission to a school, course or similar.

candide

Given to unplanned and silly ideas or actions.

candidement

In a confident manner; with confidence; with strong assurance; positively.

candir

(cooking) To cook in, or coat with, sugar syrup.

cane

An aquatic bird of the family Anatidae, having a flat bill and webbed feet.

caneton

A young duck.

canette

In a sewing machine, the small spool that holds the lower thread.

canette (de bière)

(Australia, slang) A tin can containing beer.

canevas

A piece of canvas cloth stretched across a frame on which one may paint.

caniche

A breed of dog originating in Europe as hunting dogs, and having heavy, curly coat in a solid color; their shoulder height indicates their classification as standard, medium, miniature, or toy.

canidé

Any member of the family Canidae, including canines (dogs, wolves, coyotes and jackals) and vulpines (foxes).

canin

Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs.

canique

(countable, games) A small ball used in games, originally of marble but now usually of glass or ceramic. [from 17th c.]

canistel

The fruit of this tree, having a musky odour.

caniveau

A ditch along the side of a road.

cannabis

(slang) Cannabis or marijuana.