feu de joie

English

Alternative forms

• feu-de-joie

Etymology

From French, literally ‘fire of joy’.

Noun

feu de joie (plural feux de joie)

1. (obsolete) A bonfire.
2. A celebratory salute made by firing guns into the air sequentially along a line.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Watches of the Night’, Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 60:

     while Platte was rolling over and over on the turf, like a shot rabbit, the watch and guard flew from his waistcoat—as an Infantry Major's sword hops out of the scabbard when they are firing a feu-de-joie

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French

Noun

feu de joie m (plural feux de joie)

1. bonfire