morpion
English edit
Etymology edit
French, from mordre (“to bite”) + Latin pedis (“louse”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
morpion (plural morpions)
- (obsolete) A louse.
- 1662, [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
- His Flea, his Morpion, and Punese,
He 'ad gotten for his proper Ease
References edit
“morpion”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
morpion m (plural morpions)
- (in the plural) crabs, pubic lice
- brat, sprog, unruly child
- tic-tac-toe (US), noughts and crosses (UK)
Further reading edit
- “morpion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Norman edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
morpion m (plural morpions)