dessin

English

Noun

dessin (plural dessins)

1. (mathematics) dessin d'enfant

Anagrams

• snides

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈde.sin]

Verb

dessin

1. third-person plural imperfect subjunctive of dar

French

Etymology

Deverbal from desseigner, dessigner, dessiner (influenced by Italian disegno). Doublet of dessein and design.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de.sɛ̃/

• Audio:

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• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

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• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Homophone: dessein

Noun

dessin m (plural dessins)

1. drawing (act of drawing)
   • 1943, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, chapter IV, in Le petit prince [The Little Prince], New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, page 20:

     C'est dur de se remettre au dessin, à mon âge, quand on n'a jamais fait d'autres tentatives que celle d'un boa fermé et celle d'un boa ouvert, à l'âge de six ans !

     It is hard to take up drawing again at my age, when I have never made any pictures except those of the boa constrictor from the outside and the boa constrictor from the inside, since I was six.

2. drawing (drawn picture)

   Aussi modeste qu'habile, il n'était jamais content de ses dessins, lors même qu'ils avaient mérité les suffrages des connaisseurs.

   As modest as he was skilful, he was never happy with his drawings, even when they had won the approval of connoisseurs.

3. design (pattern)

Derived terms

• dessin animé

Descendants

• → Japanese: デッサン
• → Ottoman Turkish: دسن (desen), ده‌سن (desen)
  • Turkish: desen
• → Polish: deseń
• → Romanian: desen
• → Serbo-Croatian: dezen

Further reading

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