bêtise

See also: Betise and bêtisé

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French bêtise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beɪˈtiːz/, /bɛˈtiːz/
• Rhymes: -iːz

Noun

bêtise (countable and uncountable, plural bêtises)

1. silliness, folly, stupidity
   • 1840, M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Paris Sketch Book, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC:

     […] Flicflac will trill you off fifty in ten minutes, and wonder at the bêtise of the Briton, who has never a word to say.

Anagrams

• bestie, beties, bitees

French

Etymology

From bête +‎ -ise.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛ.tiz/ ~ /be.tiz/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

bêtise f (countable and uncountable, plural bêtises)

1. (uncountable) foolishness

   Synonym: sottise

   la bêtise humaine ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (countable) hooey

   Synonym: connerie

   faire une bêtise ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

3. (uncountable) nonsense

Derived terms

• bêtisier

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: betiz
• Mauritian Creole: betiz
• Réunion Creole French: bétiz
• → English: bêtise
• → German: Betise

See also

• bêtise de Cambrai

Further reading

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