boutade

§English

§Etymology

French, from bouter (“to thrust”). See butt.

§Noun

boutade (plural boutades)

1. (obsolete) An outbreak; a caprice; a whim.
   • 1884, Henry James, "The Path of Duty" in The English Illustrated Magazine 2(15): 240–256.

     [H]e suddenly broke out, "Well, then, as I understand you, what you recommend me is to marry Miss Bernardstone, and carry on an intrigue with Lady Vandeleur!" He knew perfectly that I recommended nothing of the sort, and he must have been very angry to indulge in this boutade.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

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§French

§Noun

boutade f (plural boutades)

1. caprice, whim
2. quip, joke

§External links

• “boutade” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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§Italian

§Etymology

French

§Noun

boutade f (invariable)

1. witticism, wisecrack