fourche

See also: fourché

English

A cross fourche(e).

Etymology

Borrowed from French fourché. Doublet of furcate and fork.

Adjective

fourche (not comparable)

1. (heraldry) Having the ends forked or branched, and the ends of the branches terminating abruptly as if cut off; said of an ordinary, especially of a cross.

Alternative forms

• fourchee, fourchée, fourché, fourchy

References

• “fourche”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French furche, forche, from Latin furca (“pitchfork”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuʁʃ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

fourche f (plural fourches)

1. pitchfork
2. fork (in the road etc.)
3. crotch
4. split end (hair)
5. fork (of a bicycle)

Derived terms

• fourche à vanner
• fourchette
• passer sous les fourches caudines

Descendants

• fourché
  • → English: fourche, fourchee

Further reading

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