French–English dictionary

dzêta

The sixth letter of the modern Greek alphabet (Ζ, ζ) preceded by epsilon (Ε, ε) and followed by eta, (Η, η); or the seventh letter in the ancient Greek alphabet, in which it is preceded by digamma (Ϝ, ϝ)

é

Added to transitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the object of that verb (i.e., to whom or to which an action is done).

e dans l'a

The traditional name for the ae ligature (æ), as used in Old English.

e dans l'o

The name of the Latin-script letter Œ/œ..

e-mail

(uncountable) Electronic mail, e-mail: a computer network–based service for sending, storing, and forwarding electronic messages. [from 20thc.]

e-mailer

(transitive) To send an email or emails to.

É-U

Initialism of the United States: a country in North America.

É.-U.

Initialism of the United States: a country in North America.

eagle

(golf) A score of two under par for a hole.

éale

A mythical beast in European mythology and heraldry, usually portrayed as an antelope- or goatlike four-legged creature with large horns that it can swivel in any direction.

earl

(nobility) A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.

eau

(poetic, archaic, or, dialectal) A body of water, almost always a river, sometimes a lake or reservoir, especially in the names given to such bodies.

eau d'extinction

(especially, manufacturing) Water for use in firefighting.

eau de cale

(uncountable) The water accumulated in the bilge; bilge water.

eau de Cologne

Any of a family of fresh, citrus-based fragrances distilled using extracts from citrus, floral, and woody ingredients, said to have been developed in the early 18th century in Cologne, Germany.

eau de Javel

(uncountable) A chemical, such as sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, or a preparation of such a chemical, used for disinfecting or whitening.

eau de mer

The saltwater of a sea or ocean.

eau de pluie

Water (for a house, etc.) sourced from rain which has not joined a spring, stream or river, pond, lake or sea.

eau de vaisselle

Water that dishes and cooking utensils have been washed in.

eau pétillante

(uncountable) Carbonated water (water impregnated with pressurised carbon dioxide, originally made with sodium bicarbonate).

eau savonneuse

(countable, uncountable) Lather; foam or froth formed by mixing soap and water.

eau souterraine

Water that exists beneath the earth's surface in underground streams and aquifers.

eau-de-vie

(uncountable) An alcoholic liquor distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice.

eau-forte

(uncountable) The art of producing an image from a metal plate into which an image or text has been etched with acid.

eaux

(poetic, archaic, or, dialectal) A body of water, almost always a river, sometimes a lake or reservoir, especially in the names given to such bodies.

eaux de pluie

Water (for a house, etc.) sourced from rain which has not joined a spring, stream or river, pond, lake or sea.

eaux noires

Waste from domestic toilets; water containing fecal matter. [from 20th c.]

eaux usées

A suspension of water and solid waste, transported by sewers to be disposed of or processed.

eaux vannes

Any water that has been used in some human domestic or industrial activity and, as a result, now contains waste products.

ébahir

To astonish, bewilder or dazzle.

ébauche

(countable, uncountable, figuratively) A rough or symbolic representation; a vague indication of what is to come, a foreshadowing.

ébauchement

(countable, uncountable, figuratively) A rough or symbolic representation; a vague indication of what is to come, a foreshadowing.

ébaucher

(transitive) To write a first version; to make a preliminary sketch.

eBay

A popular Internet auction website.

ébène

Made of ebony wood.

ébénier

(countable) A tree that yields such wood.

ébéniste

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

ébénisterie

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

éberlué

Shocked and speechless.

éblouissant

Shining very brightly.

ébonite

The relatively hard product of vulcanizing natural rubber with sulfur; vulcanite.

éborgner

(transitive, intransitive) To dig or scoop (something) out with or as if with a gouge; in particular, to use a thumb to push or try to push the eye (of a person) out of its socket.

ébouillanter

To burn with hot liquid.

éboulement

(mining) A collapse or cave-in.

éboulis

(uncountable) Loose stony debris on a slope. [from early 18th c.]

ébouriffé

(of a person) With the hair uncombed.

ébranlement

A spasmodic shaking.

ébranler

(intransitive) To spasm or shake violently.

ébrasure

(architectural element, military) Any of the indentations between the merlons of a battlement; an opening in a wall or parapet through which ordnance can be fired.

ébréchure

A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.

ébriété

A drunken state.

ébruiter

(transitive, archaic, _, in, _, Britain, current in the) To disseminate, promulgate, or spread news, a rumour, etc.

ébullition

(uncountable, countable) The process of changing the state of a substance from liquid to gas by heating it to its boiling point.

ÈC (ère commune)

Initialism of Church of England. More commonly, C of E. Used in the names of church schools in England.

écaille

Part of an overlapping arrangement of many small, flat and hard pieces of keratin covering the skin of an animal, particularly a fish or reptile.

écailler

(transitive) To clean, as the inside of a cannon, by the explosion of a small quantity of powder.

écailleux

Covered or abounding with scales.

écale

The dry, leafy or stringy exterior of certain vegetables or fruits, which must be removed before eating the meat inside.

écaler

To take off the shell or coat of.

écang

(countable) A wooden implement shaped like a large knife used to separate the valuable fibres of flax or hemp by beating them and scraping from it the woody or coarse portions.

écanguer

To separate the woody fibre from (flax, hemp, etc.) by beating; to swingle.

écarlate

Of a bright red colour.

écart

(statistics) For interval variables and ratio variables, a measure of difference between the observed value and the mean.

écart d'acquisition

(business) A concept used to refer to the ability of an individual or business to exert influence within a community, club, market or another type of group, without having to resort to the use of an asset (such as money or property), either directly or by the creation of a lien.

écarté

Situated away from the main or most frequented areas.

écartelé

(heraldry) (of a coat of arms) Divided into four parts crosswise.

écartement

The distance between evenly spaced objects, e.g. the teeth of a saw or gear, the turns of a screw thread, the centres of holes, or letters in a monospace font.

écarter

(transitive) To throw away, to reject.

écartez-vous

(to a crowd) Make way! Clear a path!

ecchymose

A purplish mark on the skin due to leakage of blood from capillaries under the surface that have been damaged by a blow.

ecclésiastique

A member of a clergy.

écervelé

Empty-headed, scatterbrained or frivolous; ditzy.

écervelée

An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.

échafaud

A platform used to display or convey a coffin during a funeral, often ornate.

échafaud volant

An enclosed car attached to a cable mechanically lifted up the side of a mountain; an enclosed ski lift; a cable car.

échafaudage

A structure made of scaffolding for workers to stand on while working on a building.

échafaudage suspendu

An enclosed car attached to a cable mechanically lifted up the side of a mountain; an enclosed ski lift; a cable car.

échafauder

(transitive) To combine from various elements.

échalas

(informal) A tall, thin person.

échancrer

To create or form an edge in the shape of a crescent or multiple crescents.

échancrure

(music) An indentation in the upper bout of a guitar's body adjacent to the neck, allowing easier access to the upper frets.

échange

An act of exchanging or trading.

échangeable

Able to be exchanged.

échanger

(transitive) To trade or barter.

échangeur

(countable) A junction in which traffic may merge to enter or diverge to exit a limited-access highway to access a surface street, without crossing traffic on the main highway.

échangeur autoroutier

(countable) A junction in which traffic may merge to enter or diverge to exit a limited-access highway to access a surface street, without crossing traffic on the main highway.

échangeur routier

(countable) A junction in which traffic may merge to enter or diverge to exit a limited-access highway to access a surface street, without crossing traffic on the main highway.

échangisme

(sex) An activity where couples engage in sexual activity with different partners, often in a group setting.

échangiste

(sex) A person who practices swinging (sex with different partners).

échantillon gratuit

(informal) Something which is free; a giveaway or handout.

échantillonnage

The process or technique of obtaining a representative sample.

échantillonner

(transitive) To take or to test a sample or samples of.

échappatoire

The act of leaving a dangerous or unpleasant situation.

échapper

(intransitive) To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.

échapper (à quelqu'un)

(transitive) To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by.

écharde

A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.

écharnoir

A tool used to remove the flesh from the skin during the making of leather.

écharpe

A more or less square piece of material worn over the head, typically by women, often to protect the hair, or for religious reasons.

échasse

Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.

échassier

Any of various wading birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, related to the avocet, that have extremely long legs and long thin bills.

échauder

To burn with hot liquid.

échauffer

(transitive) To cause an increase in temperature of (an object or space); to cause to become hot (often with "up").

échauffourée

(archaic) A brawl; a rowdy disturbance.

échec

(chess) A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. [from 14th c.]

échec et mat

(chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

échecs

A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

échelon

A level indicating a base salary (in the US applying to military and government employees).

échelonner

(transitive, military) To form troops into an echelon.

écheveau

(by extension) A time-consuming tangent or detour, often one from which it is difficult to extricate oneself.

échevin

A member of a municipal legislative body in a city or town.

Échidna

(Greek mythology) A female monster who, along with Typhon, mothered the vast majority of the famous monsters and creatures of Greek mythology.

échidné

Any of the species of small spined monotremes in the family Tachyglossidae, the four extant species of which are found in Australia and southern New Guinea.

échine

Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.

échiqueté

Divided into a grid of squares of alternating colours or shades, or into light and dark patches.

échiquier

A board, usually square, covered with such a pattern; especially such a board with 8×8 squares, used to play chess and draughts/checkers.

Écho

(Greek mythology) An oread, punished by Hera by losing her own voice and only being able to mimic that of others.

échogramme

A medical image produced by an ultrasound echo.

échographie

(medicine) The use of ultrasound as a diagnostic aid.

échoppe

A small stall for the display and sale of goods.

échoué

(nautical, of a vessel) Run aground on a shore or reef.

échouer

(transitive, computing) To terminate a process prior to completion.

éclabousser

(intransitive, of a liquid) To shift chaotically; to splash noisily.

éclaboussure

An impact or impression.

Éclair

The eighth and last reindeer of Santa Claus.

éclair de génie

A sudden idea, understanding, or inspiration; a brainstorm.

éclairage

The equipment used to provide illumination; the illumination so provided.

éclairagiste

(film) A chief lighting technician for a motion-picture or television production.

éclaircie

A break in the clouds, fog, mist etc., which allows light through.

éclairé

Based on relevant information.

éclairer

(transitive) To supply with light.

éclaireur

A male member of the Scout Movement.

éclat

(figurative) Of colour, light, or some other quality: dazzling, often garish, brilliance.

éclatant

(rare) Impressive, brilliant, striking, convincing.

éclatement

An act or instance of bursting.

éclater

(transitive) To cause to break from internal pressure.

éclater de rire

(slang, African American Vernacular) To laugh uncontrollably.

éclectique

Selecting a mixture of what appears to be best of various doctrines, methods or styles.

éclipse

Especially, an alignment whereby a planetary object (for example, the Moon) comes between the Sun and another planetary object (for example, the Earth), resulting in a shadow being cast by the middle planetary object onto the other planetary object.

éclipser

To get in the way of so as to hide from sight.

écliptique

(astronomy) The plane in which this great circle lies.

éclisse

(rail transport) A metal bar that is bolted to the ends of two rails to join them together in a track.

éclore

(intransitive, of young animals) To emerge from an egg.

écloserie

A facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish or poultry.

écluse

A segment of a canal or other waterway enclosed by gates, used for raising and lowering boats between levels.

éco-

ecology or the environment (in the ecological sense)

écoduc

(ecology) A type of wildlife crossing in the form of a bridge or tunnel, usually covered with foliage and turf, which animals may use to cross roads without the risk of being hit by vehicles; a wildlife viaduct. [from late 20th c.]

écœurant

Excessively sweet.

écoeuré

(slang) Deeply disappointed or crushed, as by defeat, failure, or loss; let down.

écœurée

Nauseated; having an urge to vomit. [from 20th c.]

école

(collective) A group of fish or a group of marine mammals such as porpoises, dolphins, or whales.