blaireau

blaireau

French

Etymology

From Middle French blereau, blariau, from Old French blarel, from blair,.

• Possibly from Frankish *blari (“sporting a white blaze on the forehead”) (compare *blasā).
• Alternatively, from Gaulish *blaros, referring to the color gray, closely related to Proto-Celtic *blāwos (“yellow”).
• According to Bratchet, from a diminutive of blé (“corn, wheat”) thus meaning an animal that feeds on corn.[1]

Replaced Old French taisson (“badger”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blɛ.ʁo/, /ble.ʁo/

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• Audio

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Noun

blaireau m (plural blaireaux, feminine blairelle)

1. badger
2. shaving brush
3. (colloquial) fool

   T'es vraiment un blaireau. ― You're truly a fool.

   Synonyms: branleur, branque, brêle, clampin, tocard

Derived terms

• blair
• blaireau eurasiatique
• blaireau européen

 

References

1. Bratchet, A. (1873), “blaireau”, in , Kitchin, G. W., transl., Etymological dictionary of the French language (Clarendon Press Series), 1st edition, London: Oxford/MacMillan and Co.

Further reading

• “blaireau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• abluerai, labeurai

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Norman

Etymology

From Old French blarel, from blair.

Noun

blaireau m (plural blaireaus)

1. (Jersey) badger