escarbille
French
Etymology
Ultimately from Middle Dutch schrabben, schrabbelen (see modern Dutch schrapen (“scrape, rake”)).
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
escarbille f (plural escarbilles)
- a small piece of unburned coal mixed with ashes
- 1885, Émile Zola, Germinal:
- la dernière pelletée d'escarbilles était brûlée depuis la veille
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
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- a speck of ember that escapes from a fire and floats in the air; floating ember
- 1953, Simone de Beauvoir, Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée [Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter]:
- J'aimais les trains. Penchée à la portière, j'offrais mon visage au vent et aux escarbilles […]
- I love trains. Leaning out the door I offer my face to the wind and the embers […]
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Further reading
- “escarbille”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.