beaucoup

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French beaucoup. Popularized by the American GIs during the Vietnam War.

Alternative forms

• boku, boocoo, bookoo, buku

Determiner

beaucoup

1. (US, informal) much, many, a lot of.

   You know that cost beaucoup bucks!

Noun

beaucoup (plural beaucoups)

1. an abundance. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

"Did you hear that? There must be beaucoup bugs out there!"

Adverb

beaucoup (not comparable)

1. In abundance.

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French

Etymology

From Old French biau cop, first attested circa 1210. Equivalent to beau (“nice, beautiful”) +‎ coup (“hit, strike”). The latter word also means “helping of soup or beverage”, first attested circa 1375, whose sense may have triggered or reinforced beaucoup to mean “a lot”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bo.ku/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u

Adverb

beaucoup

1. much, very much, a lot

   Merci beaucoup !

   Thank you very much!

Related terms

• beau, belle

See also

• plus
• autant
• moins

Further reading

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