chemin de fer

See also: chemin-de-fer

English

Alternative forms

• chemin-de-fer

Etymology

Borrowed from French chemin de fer (literally “railway”), from being a faster variant of baccarat.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʃəˌmæ̃ də ˈfɛə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

chemin de fer (uncountable)

1. A card game, a variation of baccarat.
   • 1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 4, in Casino Royale, page 23:

     Bond had spent the last two afternoons and most of the nights at the Casino, playing complicated progression systems on the even chances at roulette. He made a high banco at chemin-de-fer whenever he heard one offered.

   • 2005, Mark Zegarelli, Poker Logic Puzzles, →ISBN, page 73:

     The person who left at 1:00 is either Alice or the woman who played chemin de fer (9), so in either case she is a woman.

   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, pages 603–4:

     “Come on,” Kit motioning her with his head over to a chemin-de-fer table

French

Etymology

Literally, “iron way.” Compare German Eisenbahn, Italian ferrovia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃə.mɛ̃ d(ə) fɛʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

chemin de fer m (plural chemins de fer)

1. railroad, railway

   Synonyms: voie ferrée, railway

2. (card games) chemin de fer

Descendants

• → Arabic: سِكّةُ حَدِيدٍ (sikkatu ḥadīdin) (calque)
• → Armenian: շիմէնտիֆէր (šimēntifēr), շըմէնտուրա (šəmēntura)
• → Ottoman Turkish: شمندوفر (şümendüfer, şömendüfer, şimendüfer, şemendüfer), شمندفر (şümendefer, şömendefer, şimendefer, şemendefer, şümendifer, şömendifer, şimendifer, şemendifer); شمندیفر (şümendifer, şömendifer, şimendifer, şemendifer)
  • Turkish: şümendüfer, şömendüfer, şimendüfer, şemendüfer, şümendefer, şömendefer, şimendefer, şemendefer, şümendifer, şömendifer, şimendifer, şemendifer (dated)
  • → Turkish: demir yolu (calque)
• → Persian: راه‌آهن (râh-âhan) (calque)
• → Vietnamese: đường sắt (calque)

See also

• ferroviaire

Further reading

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

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French chemin de fer (“railway”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɵˌmen dɵ ˈfer/

Noun

chemin de fer n (uncountable)

1. chemin de fer (a card game)