hurluberlu
French
Etymology
Compound of hurelu (“ruffled”) + berlu (“who cannot see clearly, who is eccentric”) with spelling change, or perhaps from English hurly-burly.
Pronunciation
- (mute h) IPA(key): /yʁ.ly.bɛʁ.ly/
Audio (CAN) (file)
Noun
hurluberlu m (plural hurluberlus, feminine hurluberlue)
- weirdo (eccentric person)
- 1938, Francis Carco L’Homme de Minuit:
- Il discernait qu'il avait affaire à un personnage exceptionnellement distrait, mais il n'était pas responsable d'une pareille balourdise chez cet hurluberlu qui visait à l'élégance.
- 1938, Francis Carco L’Homme de Minuit:
Adjective
hurluberlu (feminine hurluberlue, masculine plural hurluberlus, feminine plural hurluberlues)
- weird, eccentric (of a person)
- Synonym: excentrique
Further reading
- “hurluberlu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.