hirondelle
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Old Occitan irondela, diminutive of irunda, ironda, ultimately from Latin hirundō. Replaced Old French arondelle, diminutive of aronde, from Latin hirundō (compare also harundō).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
hirondelle f (plural hirondelles)
- swallow (bird)
- 1976, Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar, "Le printemps".
- L’hirondelle et la fauvette, c’est la forêt qui me l’a dit / L’hirondelle et la fauvette, ont déjà fait leur nid
- The swallow and the warbler, it's the forest that told me / The swallow and the warbler have already made their nests
- 1976, Michel Fugain et le Big Bazar, "Le printemps".
- (printing) alignment mark printed in the margin
- (colloquial, dated) policeman on a bicycle or motorcycle
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “hirondelle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.