cohue

French

Etymology

1235; from Middle Breton cochuy (“covered market; bustle, tumult”) (modern Breton koc'hu, koc'hui), similar to Welsh cy- (“together”) + chwyf (“movement, commotion”), from Proto-Brythonic *hwɨβid (“to move”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.y/

Noun

cohue f (plural cohues)

1. crowd, rabble
   • 1924, Emmanuel Bove, Mes Amis‎^[1]:

     Malgré la cohue, le chemin était toujours libre devant nous. Quand il fallait traverser une rue, un agent, comme par hasard, interrompait la circulation.

     Despite the crowd, the road was always open before us. Whenever we had to cross a street, some force, as if by chance, stopped traffic.

Further reading

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