alouette
French edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Old French aloëte, diminutive aloe + -ette, from Latin alauda, from Gaulish *alauda (“skylark”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
alouette f (plural alouettes)
- lark (bird)
- 1896 September 27, Octave Mirbeau, “Le tripot aux champs”, in Le Journal:
- C’est l’heure charmante où l’alouette s’élève dans le ciel, salue de ses trilles et de ses roulades le matin jeune, virginal et triomphant.
- It is the charming hour when the lark rises into the sky and salutes with its trilling and swirling song the young, virginal, and triumphant morning.
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Etymology 1, alluding to the French-Canadian folk song Alouette, a cumulative song with a lengthening list of body parts.
Interjection edit
alouette
- (usually humorous) Used at the end of a long list of items; and a partridge in a pear tree
- 2020, Philippe Mercure, “COVID-19 : quand la maladie s'éternise”, in La Presse:
- Neurologue, pneumologue, plusieurs cardiologues, oto-rhino-laryngologiste, rhumatologue, spécialiste des maladies infectieuses, alouette : son quotidien est rythmé par les examens avec les nombreux spécialistes qui la suivent.
- Neurologist, pneumonologist, several cardiologists, ENT, rheumatologist, infectious disease specialist, and a partridge in a pear tree: the rhythm of her daily life is set by her appointments with the numerous specialists who are following her.
Further reading edit
- “alouette”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Norman edit
Alternative forms edit
- alouaette (Guernsey)
Etymology edit
From Old French aloëte, diminutive of aloe, from Latin alauda, from Gaulish [Term?].
Noun edit
alouette f (plural alouettes)
Derived terms edit
- alouette dé banque, alouette dé grève, alouette dé rotchi (“rock pipit”)
- alouette dé mielle, p'tite alouette (“meadow pipit”)
- blianche alouette (“snow bunting”)
- pid-d'alouette (“crabgrass, larkspur”)