French–English dictionary

étant donné que

In consideration of the fact that.

étape

A circular or repetitious route.

Etat

(international, _, legal, metonymically) A sovereign state; (loosely, metonymically, proscribed) a country.

état civil

A government repository, database recording the vital events (births, deaths, etc.) of its citizens and residents, its office.

état d'âme

doubt, apprehension, a feeling of dread

état d'esprit

(figurative) Disposition or state of mind.

état de l'art

The condition of scientific or technical knowledge, particularly the peak or highest level thereof, at a particular time. [from early 20th c.]

état matrimonial

One of several discrete options describing a person's relationship with a significant other, such as single, married, divorced, widowed, civil union, domestic partnership, etc.

étatisme

(mostly, libertarianism, and, anarchism) The belief that the state is a legitimate societal organization. [1912]

états-unien

Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, its people, or its culture.

étau

(US) An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing.

étayer

(transitive) To support with, or as if with, a prop.

etc.

And so on: used to note that the rest of a list or piece of information has been left out on the assumption that it is similar or already known.

été

One of four seasons, traditionally the second, marked by the longest and typically hottest days of the year due to the inclination of the Earth and thermal lag. Typically regarded as spanning the months of June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere and the months of December, January and February in the Southern Hemisphere.

éteindre

(slang) To sing out, sing out loud.

éteint

(dated) Of fire, etc.: no longer alight; of a light, etc.: no longer shining; extinguished, quenched.

étendard

(internet slang, ACG) An indication that a certain outcome or event is going to happen, deduced not logically or causally, but as a pattern in a piece of media. Chiefly used in video games and adjacent media, especially visual novels, it is typically described as being raised or set by the plot or words of a character.

étendoir

A frame on which laundry is hung to dry.

étendre

(transitive) To smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance; also, to spread over, as oil.

étendu

(figurative) Considerable in amount.

étendue

(obsolete) A space within limits; an area.

éternel

(relative to past) Having existed for so great a period of time that its longevity cannot be expressed.

éternellement

For eternity; forever.

éternité

Eternity, the duration of the universe.

éternuement

An act of sneezing.

éternuer

(intransitive, medical sign) To expel air as a reflex induced by an irritation in the nose.

éteule

(countable, and, uncountable) The short stalks left in a field after crops have been harvested.

Éthan

A en given name, of mostly American usage since the 18th century; popular in the 2000s.

éthanol

(organic compound) A simple aliphatic alcohol formally derived from ethane by replacing one hydrogen atom with a hydroxyl group: CH3-CH2-OH.

Éther

(Greek god) One of the Greek primordial deities who was the personification of light, brother-husband of Hemera and grandson of Chaos.

Ethernet

A computer network that complies with this set of standards.

Éthiopie

A country in East Africa.

éthiopien

Of, from, or pertaining to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian people or the Ethiopian culture.

ethnicité

The common characteristics of a group of people, especially regarding ancestry, culture, language or national experiences.

ethnie

A group of people who identify with one another, especially on the basis of ancestral, national, linguistic, cultural, historical or religious grounds.

ethnologie

(anthropology) The branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes different human cultures and the relationships between them.

éthographie

The study and recording of moral behaviour and human manners

éthologie

(zoology) The scientific study of animalian behavior, especially that of nonhuman animals.

éthos

(art) The traits in a work of art which express the ideal or typic character, as influenced by the ethos (character or fundamental values) of a people, rather than emotional situations or individual character traits in a narrow sense; opposed to pathos.

éthylomètre

A device that measures alcohol in expired air so as to estimate the concentration of alcohol in a person's blood; used by traffic police in cases of suspected driving while under the influence of alcohol.

éthylotest

A device that measures alcohol in expired air so as to estimate the concentration of alcohol in a person's blood; used by traffic police in cases of suspected driving while under the influence of alcohol.

éthyne

(organic compound, official IUPAC name) The organic compound acetylene. The simplest alkyne, a colorless gaseous (at room temperature and pressure) hydrocarbon with the chemical formula HC≡CH or C2H2.

Étienne

(biblical character) The first Christian martyr.

étincelant

Brightly sparkling.

étincelle

A small spark or flash.

étincellement

A bright, sparkling light; shininess or brilliance.

étiquetage

A set of labels applied to the various objects in a system, to packaged goods, and so on; the act or process of applying them.

étiqueter

(transitive) To put a label (a ticket or sign) on (something).

étiquette

A name given to something or someone to categorise them as part of a particular social group.

étirable

Capable of being stretched.

étirement

An act of stretching.

étirer

(ambitransitive) To exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch (one's senses, faculties etc.) beyond what is normal or comfortable.

étirer (le cou)

(ambitransitive) To extend (one's neck).

Etna

An active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, between Messina and Catania.

étoffe

Cloth to be made into a garment; woven fabric.

étoffe grossière de chanvre

(US) A very strong, coarse cloth, made from jute, flax, or hemp, and used to make sacks, etc.

étoile

(printing) An asterisk (*) or comparable symbol (e.g., ★, ☆, ✶, ✦, ✧, ✷, ✪, ⭐) inspired by a celestial star.

étoile de mer

(slang) A sexual partner who lies flat and unresponsive during sex.

étoile filante

A fast-moving streak of light in the night sky caused by the entry of extraterrestrial matter into the earth's atmosphere; a shooting star or falling star. [from 16th c.]

Étoile polaire

(astronomy) The current northern pole star, the star nearest the northern celestial pole, which has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.

étonnamment

To a wonder-inspiring extent.

étonnant

Causing wonder and amazement; very surprising.

étonnante

Causing surprise.

étonné

Caused to feel surprise, amazement or wonder, or showing an emotion due to an unexpected event.

étonnement

The feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise.

étonner

To surprise greatly.

étouffant

That stifles.

étouffer

(intransitive) To be unable to breathe because of obstruction of the windpipe (for instance food or other objects that go down the wrong way, or fumes or particles in the air that cause the throat to constrict).

étoupe

Fibres chiefly obtained by untwisting old rope, which are used to caulk or pack gaps between boards of wooden ships and joints in masonry and plumbing, and sometimes for dressing wounds.

étouper

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

étoupin

A soft plug or seal, particularly as used between the powder and pellets in a shotgun cartridge, or earlier on the charge of a muzzleloader or cannon.

étourderie

The quality of being forgetful; proneness to let slip from the mind.

étourdi

(idiomatic) Synonym of lost in thought; distracted or daydreaming.

étourdiment

In a rash manner; hastily or without due consideration; with precipitation.

étourdir

(transitive) To stun or stupefy, for example with bright light, with a blow, with cold, or with fear.

étourdissant

Producing giddiness.

étourneau

A family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds.

étrange

Inspiring fear, especially in a mysterious or shadowy way; strange, weird.

étrangement

In an eerie manner.

étranger

Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries. [from 1350–1470]

étrangère

A person from a foreign country.

étrangeté

The quality or state of being peculiar; individuality; singularity.

étranglement

(medicine) Abnormal narrowing of a canal or duct in the body.

étrangler

(intransitive) To have the throat obstructed so as to be in danger of suffocation; to choke; to suffocate.

étrangleur

Someone who strangles, especially who murders by strangling.

étrangleuse

Someone who strangles, especially who murders by strangling.

étrave

(nautical, precisely) The vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel, to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached.

être

(often, impersonal, with it as a dummy subject) Used to indicate ambient conditions such as weather, light, noise or air quality.

être à l'étroit

Uncomfortably restricted in size or space, or financially.

être adapté

(intransitive) To have sufficient space available at some location to be able to be there.

être approprié

(intransitive) To have sufficient space available at some location to be able to be there.

être assis

(intransitive, copulative, of a person) To be in a position in which the upper body is upright and supported by the buttocks.

être assise

(intransitive, copulative, of a person) To be in a position in which the upper body is upright and supported by the buttocks.

être au courant

(intransitive) To have knowledge; to have information, be informed.

être aux anges

Extremely happy.

être bénévole

(ambitransitive) To do or offer to do something voluntarily.

être chiant

(chiefly, North American, intransitive, stative, colloquial, sometimes, vulgar) To be inferior or objectionable: a general term of disparagement, sometimes used with at to indicate a particular area of deficiency. [from 20th c.]

être composé de

(sometimes, proscribed, usually in the passive) To compose; to constitute. [from the 17th c.]

être confus

(intransitive) To be bewildered, dumbfounded, or confused.

être couché

(intransitive) To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

être d'accord

(intransitive) To be in harmony about an opinion, statement, or action; to have a consistent idea between two or more people.

être d'avis

(transitive) To be of opinion (that); to consider, judge, regard, or look upon (something) as.

être debout

(intransitive, copulative) To support oneself on the feet in an erect position.

être en agrément avec

(intransitive) To be in agreement (with); to be of an accord. [from 16th c.]

être en compétition pour

(intransitive) To fight for superiority; to contend; to compete eagerly so as to gain something.

être en couches

To go through the labor of childbirth.

être en erreur

(computing) To function improperly due to an error, especially accompanied by error message.

être en face de

(transitive, of an object) To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).

être en retard

(colloquial) To have one’s menstrual discharge late, implying successful nidation suspected.

être en rut

(intransitive) To be in the annual rut or mating season.

être en supériorité numérique

(transitive, stative) To be more in number than somebody or something.

être en travail

To go through the labor of childbirth.

être époustouflé

(intransitive) To be bewildered, dumbfounded, or confused.

être étendu

(intransitive) To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

être habitué

(intransitive, archaic) To be accustomed (to something), to be in the habit (of doing something).

être humain

(fantasy, scifi, mythology) A human as contrasted from superficially similar but typically more powerful humanoid creatures; a member of the human race.

être incertain

(figurative) To be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.

être indécis

(figurative) To be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.

être malade

(intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.

être marié

(transitive) To unite in wedlock or matrimony; to perform the ceremony of joining spouses; to bring about a marital union according to the laws or customs of a place. [from 16th c.]

être nul

(chiefly, North American, intransitive, stative, colloquial, sometimes, vulgar) To be inferior or objectionable: a general term of disparagement, sometimes used with at to indicate a particular area of deficiency. [from 20th c.]

être obligé de

(intransitive) To be required; to be necessary.

être reconnaissant de

(transitive) To be grateful or thankful for.

être redevable à

(intransitive) To be indebted to someone.

être susceptible

(intransitive) To show hostility or resentment.

être suspendu

(intransitive) To be or remain suspended.

être un fiasco

(intransitive, informal) To fail completely; not to be successful at all (of a movie, play, book, song etc.).

être vigilant

(idiomatic) To watch for or look out for.

être vis-à-vis de

(transitive, of an object) To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).

être volontaire

(ambitransitive) To do or offer to do something voluntarily.

étreindre

(transitive) To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.

étreinte

(obsolete) An embrace.

étreinte fatale

(computing) An inability to continue due to two programs or devices each requiring a response from the other before completing an operation.

étriper

(transitive) To take or let out the bowels or interior parts of; to eviscerate.

étriqué

(derogatory) Characterized by an unsophisticated focus on local concerns to the exclusion of wider contexts; elementary in scope or outlook.

étroit

Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

étroitement

In a close manner.

étroitesse

The quality or degree of being tight.

ette

Forming diminutive or affectionate forms of nouns or names.

étude

A room in a house intended for reading and writing; traditionally the private room of the male head of household.

études

An academic field of study concerning the given subject.

étudiant

A male pupil or student.

étudiant de deuxième année

(US, Philippines) A second-year undergraduate student in a college or university, or a second-year student in a four-year secondary school or high school.

étudiant de licence

A student at a university who has not yet received a degree.

étudiant spécialisé

A student at a college or university specializing on a given area of study.

étudiante

A female pupil or student (especially of a university or college).

étudiante de deuxième année

(US, Philippines) A second-year undergraduate student in a college or university, or a second-year student in a four-year secondary school or high school.

étudiante spécialisée

A student at a college or university specializing on a given area of study.

étudier

To look at on all sides or in all its aspects; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study, ponder, or consider.

étui

A thing that holds.