hirondelle
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Occitan irondela, diminutive of irunda, ironda, ultimately from Latin hirundō. Replaced Old French arondelle, diminutive of aronde, from Latin hirundō (compare also harundō).
Pronunciation
- (mute h) IPA(key): /i.ʁɔ̃.dɛl/
Audio (file)
Noun
hirondelle f (plural hirondelles)
- swallow (bird)
- 1976, Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar, "Le printemps".
- L’hirondelle et la fauvette, c’est la forêt qui me l’a dit / L’hirondelle et la fauvette, ont déjà fait leur nid
- The swallow and the warbler, it's the forest that told me / The swallow and the warbler have already made their nests
- 1976, Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar, "Le printemps".
- (printing) alignment mark printed in the margin
- (colloquial, dated) policeman on a bicycle or motorcycle
Derived terms
Further reading
- “hirondelle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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