boutade

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French boutade, from bouter (to thrust). See butt.

Noun[edit]

boutade (plural boutades)

  1. A sudden outbreak or outburst; 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.
    • 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
      Thus we see that Wilde's witticisms contain a wealth of unsuspected meaning. Even his apparently nonsensical boutades are Late Romantic gestures.

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French boutade.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˌbuˈtaː.də/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: bou‧ta‧de
  • Rhymes: -aːdə

Noun[edit]

boutade f (plural boutades)

  1. witticism

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Earlier boutée, from bouter (to push).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

boutade f (plural boutades)

  1. caprice, whim
  2. quip, joke
    dire quelque chose en boutade
    to say something jokingly

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French boutade. Doublet of buttata.

Noun[edit]

boutade f (invariable)

  1. witticism, wisecrack

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French boutade.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /buˈtad/ [buˈt̪að̞]
  • Rhymes: -ad

Noun[edit]

boutade f (plural boutades)

  1. wisecrack

Usage notes[edit]

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading[edit]