ouate
See also: ouaté
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Uncertain.
Noun
ouate f (plural ouates)
- cotton wool
- Synonym: coton hydrophile
- 1986, “C'est la ouate”, in Loeb C.D., performed by Caroline Loeb:
- De toutes les matières / C’est la ouate qu’elle préfère / Passive, elle est pensive / En négligé de soie / C’est la ouate
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes
This word may optionally resist elision, as though beginning with an aspirated h, even though it is not spelt with an h. The aspirated pronunciation is the older one; the non-aspirate pronunciation has become common.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Italian: ovatta
Etymology 2
Verb
ouate
- first-person singular present indicative of ouater
- third-person singular present indicative of ouater
- first-person singular present subjunctive of ouater
- third-person singular present subjunctive of ouater
- second-person singular imperative of ouater
Further reading
- “ouate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.