See also: Renard and renârd

French

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Renard roux (Vulpes vulpes)

Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French renard, from Old French renart, the name of the fox in the medieval Roman de Renart. A Germanic personal name, from Frankish *Raginahardu, from Proto-Germanic *Raginaharduz, from *raginą (counsel) + *harduz (hard, strong). Compare German Reinhard, whence Reineke (name of the fox, after the same tale). Displaced goupil (from Latin vulpecula), possibly by way of taboo avoidance.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ʁə.naʁ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • (Louisiana) IPA(key): [(ə)ɾ(ə)na(ɾ)]

Noun

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renard m (plural renards, feminine renarde, diminutive renardeau)

  1. fox (small carnivore)
  2. (figurative) crafty, purposeful and cunning character
  3. (slang) flatulence
  4. (nautical) ancient navigation tool: circular, wooden or copper plate, which enables the helmsman to keep a record of wind conditions by inserting pegs at specific positions
  5. hardly detectable cracks or holes causing a water tank or pond to empty itself

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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