croque-mort

See also: croquemort

French

FWOTD – 31 October 2018

Alternative forms

• croquemort (post-1990 spelling)

Etymology

Uncertain, possibly from dated verb croquer (“to make disappear”) or from croc (“hook”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʁɔk.mɔʁ/

• Audio

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Noun

croque-mort m or f by sense (plural croque-morts)

1. (informal) undertaker; mortician
   • 1960, “Les Funérailles d'antan”, in Georges Brassens (lyrics), Les Funérailles d'antan:

     Au fossoyeur, au croque-mort, au curé, aux chevaux même ils payaient un verre.

     They treated the gravedigger, the undertaker, the curate, and even the horses to a drink.

See also

• fossoyeur

Further reading

• “croque-mort”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.