mouchard

See also: Mouchard

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French mouchard, from mouche (“a fly”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmuːʃɑː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /muˈʃɑɹd/

Noun

mouchard (plural mouchards)

1. An undercover investigator; a police spy, especially in a French-speaking country.
2. (nautical) An inverted compass hanging above the captain's bed

French

Etymology

From mouche (“fly”) +‎ -ard (pejorative suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu.ʃaʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʁ

Noun

mouchard m (plural mouchards, feminine moucharde)

1. (informal) (espionage) snitch, grass, tell-tale (police informant)

   Synonyms: indic, cafteur, cafard

2. (espionage) mouchard (undercover investigator)
3. (espionage) bug (hidden microphone)
4. (espionage) spyhole, peephole

   Synonym: judas

5. tachograph (device that records the distance and time traveled by a vehicle)

   Synonym: chronotachygraphe

6. (espionage) (computing) spyware (piece of spyware)

   Synonyms: espiogiciel, logiciel espion

7. (espionage) (aviation) spyplane

   Synonym: avion-espion

8. (aviation) black box, flight recorder

   Synonyms: boîte noire, enregistreur de vol

Derived terms

• mouchardage
• moucharder

Further reading

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