flammèche

French

Etymology

From West Germanic *falawiska, refashioned under the influence of flamme (“flame”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fla.mɛʃ/

Noun

flammèche f (plural flammèches)

1. spark (detached from burning material)
   • 1857, Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary […]‎^[1], Paris: Michel Lévy Frères; republished as Eleanor Marx, transl., Madame Bovary, 1886:

     M. Binet m'a certifié que les mesures étaient prises. Nulle flammèche ne sera tombée. Les pompes sont pleines. Allons dormir.

     “Monsieur Binet has assured me that all precautions have been taken. No sparks have fallen; the pumps are full. Let us go to rest.”

Further reading

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