chouette
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃwɛt/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛt
Etymology 1
From Old French çuete, diminutive of choë, cauwe, from Vulgar Latin *cawa or from Old Dutch *kāwa (“jackdaw”) (compare Dutch kauw, English chough), from Proto-West Germanic *kahwu, from Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to call, cry”).
Noun
chouette f (plural chouettes)
- owl (specifically, those species of owls without ear tufts; those with ear tufts are hiboux)
Derived terms
- chouette boréale
- chouette cendrée
- chouette chevêche
- chouette des terriers
- chouette effraie
- chouette épervière
- chouette harfang
- chouette hulotte
- chouette lapone
- chouette rayée
See also
- hibou
Etymology 2
Probably from a confusion between Etymology 1, above, and a derivative of choueter, chou.
Adjective
chouette (plural chouettes)
- (informal) great, cool, swell
- Synonym: sympa
Interjection
chouette
- (informal) Exclamation when one learns of something pleasing
- Chouette ! On va à la mer cet été ! ― Super! We're going to the sea this summer!
- Des crêpes ? Chouette ! ― Crêpes? Super!
Further reading
- “chouette”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.