ouate
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See also: ouaté
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Uncertain. Often connected to Arabic بطانة (“lining, inner part”), but this is phonologically difficult.[1] Also compare Arabic [script needed] (batt, “garment”), Hebrew [script needed] (bt, “woven dress”).[2]
Noun[edit]
ouate f (plural ouates)
- cotton wool
- Synonym: coton hydrophile
- 1986, “C'est la ouate”, in Loeb C.D., performed by Caroline Loeb:
- De toutes les matières
C’est la ouate qu’elle préfère
Passive, elle est pensive
En négligé de soie
C’est la ouate- Of all materials
Cotton wool is her favourite
Passive, she is pensive
In silk négligée
It's cotton wool
- Of all materials
Usage notes[edit]
This word may optionally resist elision, as though beginning with an aspirated h, even though it is not spelt with an h. The aspirated pronunciation is the older one; the non-aspirate pronunciation has become common.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ “ouate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- ^ Watson, Wilfred: Terms for Textiles, Clothing, Hides, Wool and Accessories in Ugaritic: An Etymological Study
Etymology 2[edit]
Verb[edit]
ouate
- inflection of ouater:
Further reading[edit]
- “ouate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- French terms taking either aspirated or mute h
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French terms with homophones
- French terms with unknown etymologies
- French terms derived from Arabic
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French terms with quotations
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms