oeuf

See also: œuf

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm

Proto-Italic *ōw(j)om

Classical Latin ōvum

Vulgar Latin *ŏvum

Old French oef

Middle French œuf

French œufbor.

English oeuf

Borrowed from French œuf. Doublet of egg, ey, huevo, and ovum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɜːf/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜːf
• Homophones: erf (non-rhotic), earth (non-rhotic, th-fronting)

Noun

oeuf (plural oeufs)

1. (humorous, only in puns or referring to French cooking) An egg.

Related terms

• oeuf en cocotte

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /œf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

oeuf m (plural oeufs)

1. nonstandard spelling of œuf

Usage notes

• The œ ligature is often replaced in contemporary French with oe (the œ character does not appear on AZERTY keyboards), but this is nonstandard.

Further reading

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

Middle French

Noun

oeuf m (plural oeufs)

1. egg (an ovum)