sauterelle

English

Etymology

French sauterelle

Noun

sauterelle (plural sauterelles)

1. An instrument used by masons and others to trace and form angles.
2. A type of crossbow for throwing hand grenades or small bombs into enemy trenches, used by the French and British soldiers on the Western Front during World War I.

French

une sauterelle (1)

sauterelle (2)

Etymology

From sauter +‎ -elle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /so.tʁɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

sauterelle f (plural sauterelles)

1. grasshopper
   • 1984, “Marcia Baïla”, in Rita Mitsouko, performed by Les Rita Mitsouko:

     C’est elle la sauterelle / La sirène en mal d’amour / Le danseur dans la flanelle / Ou le carton

     She is the grasshopper / The lovelorn mermaid / The dancer in the flannel / Or the cardboard

2. (masonry) sauterelle (instrument to trace and form angles)

   Synonym: fausse équerre

Descendants

• ⇒ Catalan: santanell
• → English: sauterelle

Further reading

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