épouvantail
French edit
Etymology edit
From épouvanter + -ail.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
épouvantail m (plural épouvantails)
- scarecrow (effigy to scare birds)
- (figurative) scarecrow, bogeyman (something terrifying but not necessarily dangerous)
Further reading edit
- “épouvantail”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.