chou
See also: Chou, chōu, chóu, chǒu, and chòu
English
Etymology
From French chou (“cabbage”); compare French pâte à choux (“choux pastry”). Doublet of caulis, cole, and kale.
Pronunciation
- enPR: sho͞o, IPA(key): /ʃuː/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uː
- Homophones: shoe, shoo, shew, SHU
Noun
chou (plural chous or choux)
- (baking) Choux pastry, usually in the form of a small round cake with a sweet filling.
- (fashion) A bunch, knot, or rosette of ribbon or other material, used as an ornament in women's clothing.
- 1891, Locomotive Engineers Journal (volume 25, page 1146)
- Medium sized chous, or rosettes of the ribbon finish the trimming at bottom of chest opening, and at the waist points back and front.
- 1891, Locomotive Engineers Journal (volume 25, page 1146)
Anagrams
- Chūō, ouch
French
Etymology
From Old French chous, from Latin caulis, itself akin to or derived from Ancient Greek καυλός (kaulós).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃu/
audio (file) Audio (Paris) (file) - Homophone: choux
- Rhymes: -u
Noun
chou m (plural choux)
- cabbage
Noun
chou m (plural choux, feminine choute)
- baby, darling, sweetheart (term of endearment)
Adjective
chou (feminine choute, masculine plural choux, feminine plural choutes)
- cute, endearing
Usage notes
Only seven words in French ending in -ou have their plurals in -oux instead of -ous: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou.
Derived terms
- bête comme chou
- bout de chou
- chou à la crème
- chou blanc
- chou cabus
- chou chinois
- chouchou (term of endearment)
- chou de Bruxelles
- chou de Chine
- chou-fleur (cauliflower)
- chou frisé
- chou pommé
- chou-rave
- chou rouge
- chou vert
- chou vert et vert chou
- coupe choux
- dans les choux
- faire chou blanc (draw a blank)
- faire ses choux gras
- feuille de chou
- ménager la chèvre et le chou
- pâte à choux
- prendre la chou
Further reading
- “chou”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Japanese
Romanization
chou
- Rōmaji transcription of ちょう
- Rōmaji transcription of チョウ
Mandarin
Romanization
chou
- Nonstandard spelling of chōu.
- Nonstandard spelling of chóu.
- Nonstandard spelling of chǒu.
- Nonstandard spelling of chòu.
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Portuguese
Noun
chou m (plural chous)
- Rare spelling of show.
Adjective
chou (invariable)
- Rare spelling of show.