début

See also debut

English

Alternative forms

debut

débute (verb only)

Etymology

Borrowing from French début, from débuter (“begin”, “start”, “lead off”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /deby/, /ˈdeɪbuː/, /ˈdeɪbjuː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

début (plural débuts)

1. (chiefly of public perfomers) A person’s or thing’s first appearance before society or another audience; one’s “maiden voyage”.

Translations

first appearance

• Finnish: debyytti (fi)

Verb

début (third-person singular simple present débuts, present participle débuting, simple past and past participle débuted)

1. To make one's début.

Usage notes

• (applicable to all senses) On first reading by a person unfamiliar with this term, debut may be mispronounced [dɪˈbʌt] (cf. rebut) if it is written without the disambiguating acute accent.

Related terms

débutant (masculine agent noun)

débutante (feminine agent noun)

Translations

to make one's debut

• Finnish: debytoida (fi)

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary defines début but does not list debut.

Anagrams

• tubed

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French

Etymology

From Middle French, derivative of desbuter (“to move, begin”), from des- + but (“mark, goal”), from Old French but (“aim, goal, end, target”), either from Old French butte (“mound, knoll, target”), from Frankish *but (“stump, log”), or from Old Norse bútr (“log, stump, butt”); both from Proto-Germanic *butą (“end, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰÀud- (“to beat, push”). Cognate with Old English butt (“tree stump”). More at English butt.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA: /de.by/

Noun

début m (plural débuts)

1. start, beginning

Derived terms

• débutant
• débutante
• débuter
• faire ses débuts