bougre

French

Etymology

From Old French bogre (“heretic”) (1172), also bogresse (“person who indulges in unnatural debauchery”) (1260), from the colloquial or vulgar pronunciation of Medieval Latin Bulgarus (“Bulgarian”), from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ, “Bulgarian”). Doublet of bulgare and boug.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buɡʁ/
• (Louisiana) IPA^(key): [buɡ], [bʊɡ]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bougre m (plural bougres)

1. (colloquial, Louisiana) chap, guy

   Synonyms: gars, mec

2. wretch (miserable, luckless person)
3. imbecile; idiot (general pejorative)
4. (dated) sodomite, bugger, homosexual
5. (invariable, followed by 'de') bloody (intensifier)

Derived terms

• bougrement
• bougresse
• bougrerie

Descendants

• → English: bugger
• Karipúna Creole French: bug
• Portuguese: bugre

Further reading

• “bougre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• Dictionary of Louisiana French: As Spoken in Cajun, Creole, and American Indian Communities (2009; →ISBN; →ISBN)

Anagrams

• bouger