éventail

French

Etymology

From éventer (“to ventilate”) +‎ -ail. For the figurative meaning, compare Polish wachlarz, Spanish abanico.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.vɑ̃.taj/

• Audio (Paris):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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Noun

éventail m (plural éventails)

1. fan (hand-held device)
2. (figurative) range, array

   un éventail de possibilités ― a range of possibilities

Derived terms

• avoir les doigts de pied en éventail

Descendants

• → Italian: ventaglio
• → Occitan: ventalh
• → Romanian: evantai

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• enlevait, levaient, vénalité