mascaret

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Occitan mascaret (“steer with a mottled face”). The appearance of the tidal bore was thought to resemble a herd of stampeding cattle.

Pronunciation

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Noun

mascaret m (plural mascarets)

1. bore (of a tidal river)
2. streaming crowd of people

Further reading

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