boutade
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From French boutade, from bouter (“to thrust”). See butt.
Noun[edit]
boutade (plural boutades)
- 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.
- 1884, Henry James, "The Path of Duty" in The English Illustrated Magazine 2(15): 240–256:
French[edit]
Noun[edit]
boutade f (plural boutades)
Further reading[edit]
- “boutade” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Italian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Noun[edit]
boutade f (invariable)
Spanish[edit]
Noun[edit]
boutade f (plural boutades)
