boutade

English

Etymology

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

Noun

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.

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French

Noun

boutade f (plural boutades)

1. caprice, whim
2. quip, joke

Further reading

• “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

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Spanish

Noun

boutade f (plural boutades)

1. wisecrack