gouffre

French

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin or Late Latin colpus, colfus, culfus, from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos). It is possible that French did not receive the word from the Latin intermediate but rather borrowed it directly from Greeks around the Mediterranean coast. Doublet of golfe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡufʁ/

• audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ufʁ

Noun

gouffre m (plural gouffres)

1. pit or shaft cave, pothole

   Synonym: aven

2. chasm

   Synonym: abîme

References

• gouffre on the French Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^fr

Further reading

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