de : Idioms & Phrases

Ab` er-de-vine" noun

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch.

Webster 1913

• noun a port and fashionable resort city on the Pacific coast of southern Mexico; known for beaches and water sports (including cliff diving)
  Acapulco.
  

WordNet

• noun United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993)
  Agnes de Mille; Agnes George de Mille.
  

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• noun United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993)
  Agnes de Mille; Agnes George de Mille.
  

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Aid"-de-camp` noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Mil.) An officer selected by a general to carry orders, also to assist or represent him in correspondence and in directing movements.

Webster 1913

• noun an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer
  aide; adjutant.
  

WordNet

• noun French political writer noted for his analysis of American institutions (1805-1859)
  Tocqueville; Alexis Charles Henri Maurice de Tocqueville.
  

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• noun French political writer noted for his analysis of American institutions (1805-1859)
  Tocqueville; Alexis Charles Henri Maurice de Tocqueville.
  

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• noun French poet and writer (1810-1857)
  Musset; Alfred de Musset.
  

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• noun liquorice-flavored usually colorless sweet liqueur made from aniseed
  anisette.
  

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• noun French botanist who categorized plants into families and developed a system of plant classification (1748-1836)
  Jussieu.
  

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• noun Mexican general who tried to crush the Texas revolt and who lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War (1795-1876)
  Santa Anna; Santa Ana; Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.
  

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• noun Mexican general who tried to crush the Texas revolt and who lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War (1795-1876)
  Santa Anna; Santa Ana; Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana.
  

WordNet

Au"to-de-fe" noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. Same as Auto-da-fé.

Webster 1913

• noun a terrorist organization in Colombia formed in 1997 as an umbrella for local and regional paramilitary groups; is financed by earnings from narcotics and serves to protect the economic interests of its members
  United Self-Defense Force of Colombia; AUC; United Self-Defense Group of Colombia.
  
  • the AUC conducted over 800 assassinations in one year

WordNet

• noun French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)
  Montesquieu; Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu.
  

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• noun French romantic writer (1766-1817)
  Baronne Anne Louise Germaine Necker de Steal-Holstein; Stael.
  

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• noun Dutch philosopher who espoused a pantheistic system (1632-1677)
  Benedict de Spinoza; Spinoza; Baruch de Spinoza.
  

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• noun a battle in World War I (May 1918); the Germans tried to attack before the American numbers were too great to defeat; the tactical success of the Germans proved to be a strategic failure
  Soissons; battle of the Aisne; battle of Soissons-Reims.
  

WordNet

Bêche` de mer" (Also<

• Beche de mer
• Bêche de mer

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The trepang.

Webster 1913

• noun pantropical climber having white fragrant nocturnal flowers
  Ipomoea alba; moonflower.
  

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• noun Dutch philosopher who espoused a pantheistic system (1632-1677)
  Benedict de Spinoza; Spinoza; Baruch de Spinoza.
  

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• noun rough-coated breed used originally in Belgium for herding and guarding cattle
  Bouvier des Flandres.
  

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• noun rough-coated breed used originally in Belgium for herding and guarding cattle
  Bouvier des Flandres.
  

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• noun (French) an establishment where you can exchange foreign money
  

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• noun Spanish poet and dramatist considered one of the great Spanish writers (1600-1681)
  Calderon de la Barca; Calderon.
  

WordNet

Carte" de vi*site`

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. A visiting card.
2. A photographic picture of the size formerly in use for a visiting card.

Webster 1913

• noun an Italian adventurer who wrote vivid accounts of his sexual encounters (1725-1798)
  Casanova; Casanova de Seingalt; Giovanni Jacopo Casanova.
  

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• noun queen of France as the wife of Henry II and regent during the minority of her son Charles IX (1519-1589)
  

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• noun Old French epic poems
  

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• noun French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970)
  Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle.
  

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• noun French physicist famous for his discoveries in the field of electricity and magnetism; formulated Coulomb's Law (1736-1806)
  Coulomb.
  

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• noun French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970)
  Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle.
  

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• noun French political philosopher who advocated the separation of executive and legislative and judicial powers (1689-1755)
  Montesquieu; Baron de la Brede et de Montesquieu.
  

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• noun French statesman (1754-1838)
  Talleyrand.
  

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• noun a card game played in casinos in which two or more punters gamble against the banker; the player wins who holds 2 or 3 cards that total closest to nine
  baccarat.
  

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• noun defensive structure consisting of a movable obstacle composed of barbed wire or spikes attached to a wooden frame; used to obstruct cavalry
  cheval-de-frise.
  

WordNet

Che*val"-de-frise" noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Mil.) A piece of timber or an iron barrel traversed with iron-pointed spikes or spears, five or six feet long, used to defend a passage, stop a breach, or impede the advance of cavalry, etc.

   Obstructions of chain, boom, and cheval-de-frise. W. Irving.

Webster 1913

• noun French soldier said to be fearless and chivalrous (1473-1524)
  Pierre de Terrail; Chevalier de Bayard; Bayard; Pierre Terrail.
  

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• noun French naturalist who proposed that evolution resulted from the inheritance of acquired characteristics (1744-1829)
  Chevalier de Lamarck; Lamarck.
  

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• noun defensive structure consisting of a movable obstacle composed of barbed wire or spikes attached to a wooden frame; used to obstruct cavalry
  cheval-de-frise.
  

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• noun the capital of Cape Verde on Sao Tiago Island
  Praia; capital of Cape Verde.
  

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• noun the fifth of May which is observed in Mexico and Mexican-American communities in the United States to commemorate the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862
  

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• noun the capital and largest city of Mexico is a political and cultural and commercial and industrial center; one of the world's largest cities
  Mexican capital; Mexico City; capital of Mexico.
  

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Co"bra de ca*pel"lo

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) The hooded snake (Naia tripudians), a highly venomous serpent inhabiting India. now Naja

Webster 1913

• noun whole young pig suitable for roasting
  suckling pig.
  

WordNet

• noun tall feather palm of northern Brazil with hard-shelled nuts yielding valuable oil and a kind of vegetable ivory
  Orbignya phalerata; babassu palm; Orbignya spesiosa; Orbignya martiana; babassu.
  

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• noun French revolutionary who was prominent in the early days of the French Revolution (1749-1791)
  Mirabeau; Honore-Gabriel Victor Riqueti.
  

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• noun French general who commanded French troops in the American Revolution, notably at Yorktown (1725-1807)
  Comte de Rochambeau; Rochambeau.
  

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• noun a French marshal who distinguished himself in the War of the Austrian Succession (1696-1750)
  Marshal Saxe; Saxe; Hermann Maurice Saxe.
  

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• noun French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814)
  Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade; de Sade; Sade.
  

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• noun the chorus of a ballet company
  ensemble.
  

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• F., body of the house, the principal mass of a building, considered apart from its wings.

Webster 1913

• noun Italian financier and statesman and friend of the papal court (1389-1464)
  Cosimo the Elder.
  

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• noun a wine from southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast
  

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• noun the blow that kills (usually mercifully)
  deathblow.
  

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• F., the stroke of mercy with which an executioner ends by death the sufferings of the condemned; hence, a decisive, finishing stroke.

Webster 1913

• noun an attack without warning
  surprise attack.
  

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• F. (Mil.), a sudden and unexpected movement or attack.

Webster 1913

• F. (Med.), a sunstroke. See Sunstroke.

Webster 1913

• noun a dramatic surprise
  
• noun a sensational bit of stagecraft
  
• noun a highly successful theatrical production
  

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• noun a French Canadian trapper
  

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• noun sweet liqueur flavored with vanilla and cacao beans
  

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• noun strawberry-flavored liqueur
  

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• noun sweet green or white mint-flavored liqueur
  

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• noun a very thin crepe of silk or silklike fabric
  

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• noun a French military decoration for gallantry
  

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• noun a passage with access only at one end
  dead end; cul.
  
• noun a street with only one way in or out
  blind alley; impasse; dead-end street.
  

WordNet

Cul`-de-sac" noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. A passage with only one outlet, as a street closed at one end; a blind alley; hence, a trap.
2. (Mil.) a position in which an army finds itself with no way of exit but to the front.
3. (Anat.) Any bag-shaped or tubular cavity, vessel, or organ, open only at one end.

Webster 1913

• noun a French soldier and dramatist remembered chiefly for fighting many duels (often over the size of his nose); was immortalized in 1897 in a play by Edmond Rostand (1619-1655)
  Cyrano de Bergerac.
  

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• noun United States heart surgeon who in 1966 implanted the first artificial heart in a human patient (born in 1908)
  De Bakey.
  

WordNet

De be"ne es"se

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Law) Of well being; of formal sufficiency for the time; conditionally; provisionally. Abbott.

Webster 1913

• noun French nuclear physicist who generalized the wave-particle duality by proposing that particles of matter exhibit wavelike properties (1892-1987)
  de Broglie; Broglie.
  

WordNet

• adjective existing in fact whether with lawful authority or not
  
  • de facto segregation is as real as segregation imposed by law
  • a de facto state of war
• adverb in reality or fact
  
  • the result was, de facto, a one-party system

WordNet

De` fac"to

Etymology

Definitions

1. Actually; in fact; in reality; as, a king de facto, -- distinguished from a king de jure, or by right.

Webster 1913

• noun segregation (especially in schools) that happens in fact although not required by law
  

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• noun United States electrical engineer who in 1907 patented the first triode vacuum tube, which made it possible to detect and amplify radio waves (1873-1961)
  Father of Radio; De Forest.
  

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• noun French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970)
  Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle.
  

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• adjective by right; according to law
  
  • de jure recognition of the new government
• adverb by law; conforming to the law
  legally; lawfully.
  
  • we are lawfully wedded now

WordNet

De` ju"re

Etymology

Definitions

1. By right; of right; by law; -- often opposed to be facto.

Webster 1913

• noun segregation that is imposed by law
  

WordNet

• noun United States painter (born in the Netherlands) who was a leading American exponent of abstract expressionism (1904-1997)
  de Kooning.
  

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• noun French royal architect who built the Tuileries Palace and Gardens in Paris for Catherine de Medicis (1515-1570)
  Delorme; Philibert Delorme; de l'Orme.
  

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• noun English poet remembered for his verse for children (1873-1956)
  de la Mare; Walter de la Mare.
  

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• adjective satellite elegant and sumptuous
  luxe; deluxe.
  
  • a deluxe car
  • luxe accommodations

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• noun United States dancer and choreographer who introduced formal dance to a wide audience (1905-1993)
  Agnes de Mille; Agnes George de Mille.
  

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• noun United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943)
  De Niro.
  

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• adverb from the beginning
  

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• noun English writer who described the psychological effects of addiction to opium (1785-1859)
  De Quincey.
  

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• adjective satellite required by etiquette or usage or fashion
  
  • instruction as to when and where a silk hat is de rigueur

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• noun French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814)
  Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade; de Sade; Sade.
  

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• noun Swiss linguist and expert in historical linguistics whose lectures laid the foundations for synchronic linguistics (1857-1913)
  Saussure; de Saussure.
  

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• noun Italian film maker (1901-1974)
  De Sica.
  

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• noun Dutch philosopher who espoused a pantheistic system (1632-1677)
  Benedict de Spinoza; Spinoza; Baruch de Spinoza.
  

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• noun Irish statesman (born in the United States); as president of the Irish Free State he was responsible for the new constitution of 1937 that created the state of Eire (1882-1975)
  de Valera.
  

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• noun Dutch botanist who rediscovered Mendel's laws and developed the mutation theory of evolution (1848-1935)
  deVries; Hugo deVries; De Vries.
  

WordNet

De-

Definitions

1. A prefix from Latin de down, from, away; as in debark, decline, decease, deduct, decamp. In words from the French it is equivalent to Latin dis- apart, away; or sometimes to de. Cf. Dis-. It is negative and opposite in derange, deform, destroy, etc. It is intensive in deprave, despoil, declare, desolate, etc.

Webster 1913

• verb dispose of by selling
  
  • the museum sold off its collection of French impressionists to raise money
  • the publishing house sold off one of its popular magazines

WordNet

• verb remove air or gas from
  deaerate.
  

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• verb reduce the emphasis
  de-emphasise; destress.
  

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• verb reduce the emphasis
  de-emphasise; destress.
  

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• verb deprive of energy
  de-energise.
  

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• verb deprive of energy
  de-energise.
  

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• verb diminish in size, scope, or intensity
  
  • The war of words between them de-escalated with time
• verb reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of
  step down; weaken.
  
  • de-escalate a crisis

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• noun (war) a reduction in intensity (of a crisis or a war)
  

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• verb make or become free of frost or ice
  defrost; deice.
  
  • Defrost the car window

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• noun an enzyme that removes the iodine radical
  

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• verb remove iodine from
  de-iodinate.
  
  • de-iodinate the thyroxine

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• verb remove iodine from
  de-iodinate.
  
  • de-iodinate the thyroxine
• adjective removing iodine from
  

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• noun the removal of iodine atoms from organic compounds
  

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• verb remove ions from
  
  • ionate thyroxine

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• noun social process of removing Nazis from official positions and giving up any allegiance to Nazism
  denazification.
  
  • denazification was a slow process

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• noun social process of neutralizing the influence of Joseph Stalin by revising his policies and removing monuments dedicated to him and renaming places named in his honor
  de-Stalinisation; destalinization; destalinisation.
  
  • his statue was demolished as part of destalinization

WordNet

• noun social process of neutralizing the influence of Joseph Stalin by revising his policies and removing monuments dedicated to him and renaming places named in his honor
  de-Stalinisation; destalinization; destalinisation.
  
  • his statue was demolished as part of destalinization

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• noun the capital and largest city in Iowa
  capital of Iowa.
  

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• noun French noblewoman who was the mistress of Henry II; she had more influence over him than did his wife Catherine de Medicis (1499-1566)
  Diane de Poitiers.
  

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• noun Spanish painter (1599-1660)
  Velazquez.
  

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• noun (Roman Catholic Church) Spanish priest who founded an order whose members became known as Dominicans or Black Friars (circa 1170-1221)
  Dominic; St. Dominic; Saint Dominic.
  

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• noun French prelate and statesman; principal minister to Louis XIII (1585-1642)
  Richelieu; Cardinal Richelieu; Armand Jean du Plessis.
  

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• noun French statesman (1560-1641)
  Sully; Duc de Sully.
  

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• noun French noblewoman who was the mistress of Henry II; she had more influence over him than did his wife Catherine de Medicis (1499-1566)
  Diane de Poitiers.
  

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• noun Irish statesman (born in the United States); as president of the Irish Free State he was responsible for the new constitution of 1937 that created the state of Eire (1882-1975)
  de Valera.
  

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• noun a perfumed liquid made of essential oils and alcohol
  cologne; cologne water.
  

WordNet

Eau` de Co*logne"

Etymology

Definitions

1. Same as Cologne.

Webster 1913

• noun mint with leaves having perfume like that of the bergamot orange
  Mentha citrata; bergamot mint; lemon mint.
  

WordNet

• noun an aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite
  Javel water; Javelle water.
  

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• noun a perfumed liquid lighter than cologne
  toilet water.
  

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• noun strong coarse brandy
  

WordNet

Eau` de vie"

Etymology

Definitions

1. French name for brandy. Cf. Aqua vitæ, under Aqua. Bescherelle.

Webster 1913

É`di`tion" de luxe" (Also<

• Edition de luxe
• Édition de luxe

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. See Luxe.

Webster 1913

• noun French writer who collaborated with his brother Jules de Goncourt on many books and who in his will established the Prix Goncourt (1822-1896)
  Goncourt; Edmond de Goncourt.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer who collaborated with his brother Jules de Goncourt on many books and who in his will established the Prix Goncourt (1822-1896)
  Goncourt; Edmond de Goncourt.
  

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• noun lightly sauteed veal cutlets spread with a Soubise sauce and liver paste then sprinkled with grated Parmesan and baked briefly
  

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• noun the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed
  morale; team spirit.
  

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• a French phrase much used by English writers to denote the common spirit pervading the members of a body or association of persons. It implies sympathy, enthusiasm, devotion, and jealous regard for the honor of the body as a whole.

Webster 1913

• noun a witty remark that occurs to you too late
  

WordNet

• Of., executor of his own wrong (Law), a stranger who intermeddles without authority in the distribution of the estate of a deceased person.

Webster 1913

• noun a method of literary criticism that analyzes details of a text in order to reveal its structure and meaning
  

WordNet

• noun a person who kills himself intentionally
  suicide.
  
• noun an act of deliberate self destruction
  

WordNet

Fe"lo-de-se` noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Law) One who deliberately puts an end to his own existence, or loses his life while engaged in the commission of an unlawful or malicious act; a suicide. Burrill.

Webster 1913

• F. A lady's maid; a chambermaid.

Webster 1913

• noun large extremely venomous pit viper of Central America and South America
  Bothrops atrops.
  

WordNet

Fer`-de-lance" noun

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Zoöl.) A large, venomous serpent (Trigonocephalus lanceolatus now Bothrops atrox) of Brazil and the West Indies. It is allied to the rattlesnake, but has no rattle. also in Central America.

Webster 1913

• noun French diplomat who supervised the construction of the Suez Canal (1805-1894)
  Lesseps; Ferdinand de Lesseps.
  

WordNet

• noun Swiss linguist and expert in historical linguistics whose lectures laid the foundations for synchronic linguistics (1857-1913)
  Saussure; de Saussure.
  

WordNet

Feu` de joie" noun

Etymology

Definitions

1. A fire kindled in a public place in token of joy; a bonfire; a firing of guns in token of joy.

Webster 1913

• noun rare-roasted beef tenderloin coated with mushroom paste in puff pastry
  beef Wellington.
  

WordNet

• noun a maid who is employed to clean and care for bedrooms (now primarily in hotels)
  chambermaid.
  

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• adjective satellite relating to or characteristic of the end of a century (especially the end of the 19th century)
  
  • fin de siecle art

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• noun plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals
  iris; flag; sword lily.
  
• noun (heraldry) charge consisting of a conventionalized representation of an iris
  fleur-de-lis.
  

WordNet

Fleur`-de-lis` noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Bot.) The iris. See Flower-de-luce.
2. A conventional flower suggested by the iris, and having a form which fits it for the terminal decoration of a scepter, the ornaments of a crown, etc. It is also a heraldic bearing, and is identified with the royal arms and adornments of France.

Webster 1913

• noun (heraldry) charge consisting of a conventionalized representation of an iris
  fleur-de-lis.
  

WordNet

Flow"er-de-luce" noun

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs (Iris) with swordlike leaves and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem. ✍ There are nearly one hundred species, natives of the north temperate zone. Some of the best known are Iris Germanica, I. Florentina, I. Persica, I. sambucina, and the American I. versicolor, I. prismatica, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun Spanish painter well known for his portraits and for his satires (1746-1828)
  Goya; Goya y Lucientes; Francisco de Goya; Francisco Jose de Goya; Francisco Goya.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish explorer who discovered Yucatan (1475-1526)
  Cordova; Francisco Fernandez Cordoba; Cordoba.
  

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• noun prelate who was the confessor of Isabella I and who was later appointed Grand Inquisitor (1436-1517)
  Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish painter well known for his portraits and for his satires (1746-1828)
  Goya; Goya y Lucientes; Francisco de Goya; Francisco Jose de Goya; Francisco Goya.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish painter well known for his portraits and for his satires (1746-1828)
  Goya; Goya y Lucientes; Francisco de Goya; Francisco Jose de Goya; Francisco Goya.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer of moralistic maxims (1613-1680)
  La Rochefoucauld.
  

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• noun French noblewoman who was mistress to Louis XIV until he became attracted to Madame de Maintenon (1641-1707)
  Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart; Montespan.
  

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• noun a powerful and wealthy terrorist organization formed in 1957 as the guerilla arm of the Colombian communist party; opposed to the United States; has strong ties to drug dealers
  FARC; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
  

WordNet

• noun French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970)
  Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle.
  

WordNet

• noun French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970)
  Charles de Gaulle; de Gaulle; Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle; General Charles de Gaulle.
  

WordNet

• noun Hungarian chemist who studied radioisotopes and was one of the discoverers of the element hafnium (1885-1966)
  Hevesy.
  

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• noun French painter of religious works (1593-1652)
  La Tour.
  

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• noun French neurologist (1857-1904)
  Tourette; Georges Gilles de la Tourette.
  

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• noun French neurologist (1857-1904)
  Tourette; Georges Gilles de la Tourette.
  

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• noun neurological disorder characterized by facial grimaces and tics and movements of the upper body and grunts and shouts and coprolalia
  Tourette's syndrome.
  

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• noun Italian painter (born in Greece) whose deep shadows and barren landscapes strongly influenced the surrealists (1888-1978)
  Chirico.
  

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• noun an Italian adventurer who wrote vivid accounts of his sexual encounters (1725-1798)
  Casanova; Casanova de Seingalt; Giovanni Jacopo Casanova.
  

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• noun Italian pope from 1523 to 1534 who broke with Henry VIII of England after Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn (1478-1534)
  Clement VII.
  

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• noun a part of the Gulf of Mexico to the west of Yucatan
  Bay of Campeche; Gulf of Campeche.
  

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• noun an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico
  Gulf of Mexico.
  

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• noun French pope from 1362 to 1370 who tried to reestablish the papacy in Rome but in 1367 returned to Avignon hoping to end the war between France and England; canonized in 1870 (1310-1370)
  Urban V.
  

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• noun French writer noted especially for his short stories (1850-1893)
  Maupassant; Guy de Maupassant.
  

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• noun Belgian architect (1863-1957)
  Henri van de Velde; Henri Clemens van de Velde.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer noted especially for his short stories (1850-1893)
  Maupassant; Guy de Maupassant.
  

WordNet

• noun Belgian architect (1863-1957)
  Henri van de Velde; Henri Clemens van de Velde.
  

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• noun a city in south central Mexico (southeast of Mexico City) on the edge of central Mexican plateau
  Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza; Puebla.
  

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• noun French novelist; he portrays the complexity of 19th century French society (1799-1850)
  Honore Balzac; Balzac.
  

WordNet

Hors` de com`bat"

Etymology

Definitions

1. Out of the combat; disabled from fighting. = out of action

Webster 1913

Hôtel`-de-ville" noun (Also<

• Hotel-de-ville
• Hôtel-de-ville

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. A city hall or townhouse.

Webster 1913

• noun Dutch botanist who rediscovered Mendel's laws and developed the mutation theory of evolution (1848-1935)
  deVries; Hugo deVries; De Vries.
  

WordNet

• noun Dutch jurist and diplomat whose writings established the basis of modern international law (1583-1645)
  Grotius; Hugo Grotius.
  

WordNet

• noun a region of north central France including Paris and the area around it
  

WordNet

• noun French naturalist who proposed that evolution resulted from the inheritance of acquired characteristics (1744-1829)
  Chevalier de Lamarck; Lamarck.
  

WordNet

• noun French general who commanded French troops in the American Revolution, notably at Yorktown (1725-1807)
  Comte de Rochambeau; Rochambeau.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer who collected Aesop's fables and published them (1621-1695)
  La Fontaine.
  

WordNet

• noun United States writer who was a leading figure of the beat generation (1922-1969)
  Kerouac; Jack Kerouac.
  

WordNet

• noun a city in southwestern Spain that is famous for making sherry
  Jerez.
  

WordNet

• noun prelate who was the confessor of Isabella I and who was later appointed Grand Inquisitor (1436-1517)
  Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros.
  

WordNet

• noun a keen enjoyment of living
  

WordNet

• noun king of Spain since 1975 (born in 1938)
  Juan Carlos.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish explorer who accompanied Columbus on his second trip in 1493; in 1513 he discovered Florida while searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth (1460-1521)
  Juan Ponce de Leon.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer who collaborated with his brother Edmond de Goncourt on many books (1830-1870)
  Goncourt; Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt.
  

WordNet

• noun French writer who collaborated with his brother Edmond de Goncourt on many books (1830-1870)
  Goncourt; Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt.
  

WordNet

• noun United States electrical engineer who in 1907 patented the first triode vacuum tube, which made it possible to detect and amplify radio waves (1873-1961)
  Father of Radio; De Forest.
  

WordNet

• noun a warrant formerly issued by a French king who could warrant imprisonment or death in a signed letter under his seal
  cachet.
  

WordNet

• F., a sealed letter, especially a letter or missive emanating from the sovereign; much used in France before the Revolution as an arbitrary order of imprisonment.

Webster 1913

• noun prolific Spanish playwright (1562-1635)
  Lope de Vega; Vega.
  

WordNet

• noun prolific Spanish playwright (1562-1635)
  Lope de Vega; Vega.
  

WordNet

• noun French explorer who circumnavigated the globe accompanied by scientists (1729-1811)
  Bougainville.
  

WordNet

• noun French poet and writer (1810-1857)
  Musset; Alfred de Musset.
  

WordNet

• noun French nuclear physicist who generalized the wave-particle duality by proposing that particles of matter exhibit wavelike properties (1892-1987)
  de Broglie; Broglie.
  

WordNet

• noun a Spanish poet whose work was characterized by an affected elegance of style (1561-1627)
  Gongora.
  

WordNet

• noun French consort of Louis XIV who secretly married the king after the death of his first wife (1635-1719)
  Francoise d'Aubigne; Madame de Maintenon; Maintenon.
  

WordNet

• noun French romantic writer (1766-1817)
  Baronne Anne Louise Germaine Necker de Steal-Holstein; Stael.
  

WordNet

• noun a disease caused by deficiency of niacin or tryptophan (or by a defect in the metabolic conversion of tryptophan to niacin); characterized by gastrointestinal disturbances and erythema and nervous or mental disorders; may be caused by malnutrition or alcoholism or other nutritional impairments
  mal rosso; Alpine scurvy; pellagra; mayidism; Saint Ignatius' itch; maidism.
  

WordNet

• noun motion sickness experienced while traveling on water
  seasickness; naupathia.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish composer and pianist (1876-1946)
  Falla.
  

WordNet

• noun brown sauce with mushrooms and red wine or Madeira
  mushroom wine sauce.
  

WordNet

• noun French mathematician and philosopher (1743-1794)
  Condorcet; Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat.
  

WordNet

• noun French soldier who served under George Washington in the American Revolution (1757-1834)
  La Fayette; Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier; Lafayette.
  

WordNet

• noun French mathematician and astronomer who formulated the nebular hypothesis concerning the origins of the solar system and who developed the theory of probability (1749-1827)
  Marquis de Laplace; Laplace.
  

WordNet

• noun French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814)
  Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade; de Sade; Sade.
  

WordNet

• noun French consort of Louis XIV who secretly married the king after the death of his first wife (1635-1719)
  Francoise d'Aubigne; Madame de Maintenon; Maintenon.
  

WordNet

• noun French noblewoman who was mistress to Louis XIV until he became attracted to Madame de Maintenon (1641-1707)
  Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart; Montespan.
  

WordNet

• noun French noblewoman who was the lover of Louis XV, whose policies she influenced (1721-1764)
  Pompadour; Jeanne Antoinette Poisson.
  

WordNet

Mar`tel` de fer"

Etymology

Definitions

1. A weapon resembling a hammer, often having one side of the head pointed; -- used by horsemen in the Middle Ages to break armor. Fairholt.

Webster 1913

• noun French painter and exponent of fauvism (1876-1958)
  Vlaminck.
  

WordNet

• noun French statesman (1560-1641)
  Sully; Duc de Sully.
  

WordNet

• noun French revolutionary; leader of the Jacobins and architect of the Reign of Terror; was himself executed in a coup d'etat (1758-1794)
  Robespierre.
  

WordNet

• noun United States heart surgeon who in 1966 implanted the first artificial heart in a human patient (born in 1908)
  De Bakey.
  

WordNet

• noun French astrologer who wrote cryptic predictions whose interpretations are still being debated (1503-1566)
  Nostradamus.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish writer best remembered for `Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616)
  Cervantes; Miguel de Cervantes; Cervantes Saavedra.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish writer best remembered for `Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616)
  Cervantes; Miguel de Cervantes; Cervantes Saavedra.
  

WordNet

Mont" de pi`é`té" (Also<

• Mont de piete
• Mont de piété

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. One of certain public pawnbroking establishments which originated in Italy in the 15th century, the object of which was to lend money at a low rate of interest to poor people in need; -- called also mount of piety. The institution has been adopted in other countries, as in Spain and France. See Lombard-house.

Webster 1913

• F., muslin of wool. Muslin delaine. See under Muslin.

Webster 1913

• noun a gauze-like fabric of silk or rayon
  

WordNet

• noun an active volcano in southwestern Mexico
  Colima; Nevado de Colima.
  

WordNet

• noun French philosopher (1638-1715)
  Malebranche.
  

WordNet

• noun a fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role
  anonym; pseudonym.
  

WordNet

• literally, war name; hence, a fictitious name, or one assumed for a time.

Webster 1913

• noun an author's pseudonym
  pen name.
  

WordNet

• literally, pen name; hence, a name assumed by an author as his or her signature.

Webster 1913

• noun a region in northeastern France
  

WordNet

• noun a city of southeastern Mexico
  Oaxaca.
  

WordNet

• noun a circular or oval window; 17th or 18th century French architecture
  

WordNet

• noun the strait between the English Channel and the North Sea; shortest distance between England and the European continent
  Strait of Calais; Strait of Dover.
  

WordNet

• noun (ballet) a dance for two people (usually a ballerina and a danseur noble)
  duet.
  

WordNet

• noun (ballet) a dance for four people
  

WordNet

• noun (ballet) a dance for three people
  

WordNet

• noun a pate made from goose liver (marinated in Cognac) and truffles
  foie gras.
  

WordNet

• noun an agricultural region of western France on the Bay of Biscay
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish poet and dramatist considered one of the great Spanish writers (1600-1681)
  Calderon de la Barca; Calderon.
  

WordNet

• noun French royal architect who built the Tuileries Palace and Gardens in Paris for Catherine de Medicis (1515-1570)
  Delorme; Philibert Delorme; de l'Orme.
  

WordNet

• noun an extinct volcano in southern Mexico between Mexico City and Veracruz; the highest peak in Mexico (18,695 feet)
  Mt Orizaba; Mount Orizaba; Citlaltepetl.
  

WordNet

• noun the outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection
  showpiece; collector's item.
  
• noun the most important dish of a meal
  

WordNet

• noun French mathematician who founded number theory; contributed (with Pascal) to the theory of probability (1601-1665)
  Fermat.
  

WordNet

• noun French soldier said to be fearless and chivalrous (1473-1524)
  Pierre de Terrail; Chevalier de Bayard; Bayard; Pierre Terrail.
  

WordNet

• noun French mathematician and astronomer who formulated the nebular hypothesis concerning the origins of the solar system and who developed the theory of probability (1749-1827)
  Marquis de Laplace; Laplace.
  

WordNet

• noun French paleontologist and philosopher (1881-1955)
  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
  

WordNet

• noun densely hairy perennial of central North America having edible tuberous roots
  Psoralea esculenta; pomme blanche; Indian breadroot; breadroot.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish explorer who accompanied Columbus on his second trip in 1493; in 1513 he discovered Florida while searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth (1460-1521)
  Juan Ponce de Leon.
  

WordNet

• noun a suspension bridge across the Tagus River at Lisbon
  

WordNet

• noun an annual prize awarded by the French government in a competition of painters and artists and sculptors and musicians and architects; the winner in each category receives support for a period of study in Rome
  

WordNet

• noun a city in south central Mexico (southeast of Mexico City) on the edge of central Mexican plateau
  Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza; Puebla.
  

WordNet

Ranz" des` vaches"

Etymology

Definitions

1. The name for numerous simple, but very irregular, melodies of the Swiss mountaineers, blown on a long tube called the Alpine horn, and sometimes sung.

Webster 1913

• noun French physicist who invented the alcohol thermometer (1683-1757)
  Reaumur.
  

WordNet

• noun son of Henry II and King of England from 1189 to 1199; a leader of the Third Crusade; on his way home from the crusade he was captured and held prisoner in the Holy Roman Empire until England ransomed him in 1194 (1157-1199)
  Richard I; Richard the Lion-Hearted; Richard the Lionheart.
  

WordNet

• noun the former capital and 2nd largest city of Brazil; chief Brazilian port; famous as a tourist attraction
  Rio.
  

WordNet

• noun an estuary between Argentina and Uruguay
  La Plata; Plata River.
  

WordNet

• noun a robe worn before dressing or while lounging
  lounging robe; dressing gown.
  

WordNet

Robe`-de-cham"bre noun

Etymology

Definitions

1. A dressing gown, or morning gown.

Webster 1913

• noun United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943)
  De Niro.
  

WordNet

• noun United States physicist (1901-1967)
  Robert Jemison Van de Graaff; Robert Van de Graaff.
  

WordNet

• noun United States physicist (1901-1967)
  Robert Jemison Van de Graaff; Robert Van de Graaff.
  

WordNet

• noun English nobleman who deposed Edward II and was executed by Edward III (1287-1330)
  Mortimer.
  

WordNet

• noun Belgian composer (1532-1594)
  Orlando di Lasso; Lasso.
  

WordNet

• names succesively given to a delicate rose color used on Sèvres porcelain.

Webster 1913

• F., a stratagem of war.

Webster 1913

• NL. (Old Chem.), potassium sulphate; so called because erroneously supposed to be composed of two salts, one acid and one alkaline.

Webster 1913

• noun French explorer in Nova Scotia who established a settlement on the site of modern Quebec (1567-1635)
  Champlain.
  

WordNet

• noun port city in northern Brazil in the Amazon delta; main port and commercial center for the Amazon River basin
  Feliz Lusitania; Para; Belem; St. Mary of Bethlehem.
  

WordNet

• noun the capital and largest city of Chile; located in central Chile; one of the largest cities in South America
  Santiago; capital of Chile; Gran Santiago.
  

WordNet

• noun a port city in southeastern Cuba; industrial center
  Santiago.
  
• noun a naval battle in the Spanish-American War (1898); the United States fleet bottled up the Spanish ships in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba and destroyed them when they tried to escape
  Santiago.
  

WordNet

• noun city in the northern Dominican Republic
  Santiago.
  

WordNet

• noun a city in southeastern Brazil that is a residential suburb of Rio de Janeiro
  

WordNet

• noun a French soldier and dramatist remembered chiefly for fighting many duels (often over the size of his nose); was immortalized in 1897 in a play by Edmond Rostand (1619-1655)
  Cyrano de Bergerac.
  

WordNet

• noun based on the principle of proportional representation; voters choose between party lists, the number elected from each list being determined by the percentage cast for each list out of the total vote
  scrutin de liste; list system.
  

WordNet

• noun based on the principle of proportional representation; voters choose between party lists, the number elected from each list being determined by the percentage cast for each list out of the total vote
  scrutin de liste; list system.
  

WordNet

• noun French soldier said to be fearless and chivalrous (1473-1524)
  Pierre de Terrail; Chevalier de Bayard; Bayard; Pierre Terrail.
  

WordNet

• noun French explorer who claimed Louisiana for France (1643-1687)
  LaSalle; Rene-Robert Cavelier.
  

WordNet

• noun an English nobleman who led the baronial rebellion against Henry III (1208-1265)
  Montfort; Earl of Leicester.
  

WordNet

• noun French feminist and existentialist and novelist (1908-1986)
  Beauvoir.
  

WordNet

• L., such, or the like, from those standing about.

Webster 1913

• noun French paleontologist and philosopher (1881-1955)
  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
  

WordNet

Tête`-de-pont" noun (Also<

• Tete-de-pont
• Tête-de-pont

)

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Mil.) A work thrown up at the end of a bridge nearest the enemy, for covering the communications across a river; a bridgehead.

Webster 1913

• noun English writer who described the psychological effects of addiction to opium (1785-1859)
  De Quincey.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish dramatist who wrote the first dramatic treatment of the legend of Don Juan (1571-1648)
  Gabriel Tellez.
  

WordNet

• noun the Spaniard who as Grand Inquisitor was responsible for the death of thousands of Jews and suspected witches during the Spanish Inquisition (1420-1498)
  Torquemada.
  

WordNet

• noun a masterly or brilliant feat
  

WordNet

• noun a French bicycle race for professional cyclists that lasts three weeks and covers about 3,000 miles
  

WordNet

• noun an action brought to recover damages from a person who has taken goods or property from its rightful owner
  

WordNet

Tripe`-de-roche" noun

Etymology

Definitions

1. (Bot.) Same as Rock tripe, under Rock.

Webster 1913

• noun a sloping pit with a stake in the middle used as an obstacle to the enemy
  

WordNet

Trou"-de-loup" noun

Etymology

Wordforms

Definitions

1. (Mil.) A pit in the form of an inverted cone or pyramid, constructed as an obstacle to the approach of an enemy, and having a pointed stake in the middle. The pits are called also trapholes.

Webster 1913

• noun race of Celtic gods or demigods; ruled Ireland in the Golden Age
  Tuatha De.
  

WordNet

• noun race of Celtic gods or demigods; ruled Ireland in the Golden Age
  Tuatha De.
  

WordNet

• noun a manservant who acts as a personal attendant to his employer
  man; gentleman; gentleman's gentleman; valet.
  
  • Jeeves was Bertie Wooster's man

WordNet

• F., a body servant, or personal attendant.

Webster 1913

• noun United States physicist (1901-1967)
  Robert Jemison Van de Graaff; Robert Van de Graaff.
  

WordNet

• noun electrical device that produces a high voltage by building up a charge of static electricity
  electrostatic machine; Wimshurst machine; electrostatic generator.
  

WordNet

• noun Belgian architect (1863-1957)
  Henri van de Velde; Henri Clemens van de Velde.
  

WordNet

• noun Spanish explorer who in 1513 crossed the Isthmus of Darien and became the first European to see the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean (1475-1519)
  Balboa.
  

WordNet

Vers` de so`cié`té" (Also<

• Vers de societe
• Vers de société

)

Etymology

Definitions

1. See Society verses, under Society.

Webster 1913

• noun French statesman and writer; considered a precursor of the romantic movement in France (1768-1848)
  Chateaubriand; Francois Rene Chateaubriand.
  

WordNet

• noun French diplomat who supervised the construction of the Suez Canal (1805-1894)
  Lesseps; Ferdinand de Lesseps.
  

WordNet

• noun a city in north central Mexico; mining center
  Durango.
  

WordNet

• noun Italian film maker (1901-1974)
  De Sica.
  

WordNet

• noun an active volcano in southwestern Mexico
  Colima; Nevado de Colima.
  

WordNet

• noun English poet remembered for his verse for children (1873-1956)
  de la Mare; Walter de la Mare.
  

WordNet

• noun English poet remembered for his verse for children (1873-1956)
  de la Mare; Walter de la Mare.
  

WordNet

• noun French poet; precursor of surrealism (1880-1918)
  Apollinaire; Guillaume Apollinaire.
  

WordNet

• noun United States painter (born in the Netherlands) who was a leading American exponent of abstract expressionism (1904-1997)
  de Kooning.
  

WordNet

• noun Dutch astronomer who calculated the size of the universe and suggested that it is expanding (1872-1934)
  Sitter.
  

WordNet

• F. (Printing) A sumptuous edition as regards paper, illustrations, binding, etc.

Webster 1913