chouette

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃwɛt/

• audio

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• Rhymes: -ɛt

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French çuete, diminutive of choë, cauwe, from Vulgar Latin *cawa or from Old Dutch *kāwa (“jackdaw”) (compare Dutch kauw, English chough), from Proto-West Germanic *kahu, from Proto-Indo-European *gewH- (“to call, cry”).

Noun

chouette f (plural chouettes)

1. owl (specifically, those species of owls without ear tufts; those with ear tufts are hiboux)

Derived terms

• chouette boréale
• chouette cendrée
• chouette chevêche
• chouette des terriers
• chouette effraie
• chouette épervière
• chouette harfang
• chouette hulotte
• chouette lapone
• chouette rayée

 

Descendants

• → Romansch: tschuetta

See also

• hibou

Etymology 2

Probably from a confusion between Etymology 1, above, and a derivative of choueter, chou.

Adjective

chouette (plural chouettes)

1. (informal) great, cool, swell

   Synonym: sympa

Interjection

chouette

1. (informal) Exclamation when one learns of something pleasing

   Chouette ! On va à la mer cet été ! ― Super! We're going to the sea this summer!

   Des crêpes ? Chouette ! ― Crêpes? Super!

Further reading

• “chouette”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.