ouate

See also: ouaté

French

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated or mute h)} IPA^(key): /wat/

• audio (l'ouate):

  (file)

• Homophone: watt

Etymology 1

Uncertain.

Noun

ouate f (plural ouates)

1. 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

• ouaté
• ouater
• ouaterie
• ouateux

Descendants

• → Italian: ovatta

Etymology 2

Verb

ouate

1. first-person singular present indicative of ouater
2. third-person singular present indicative of ouater
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of ouater
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of ouater
5. second-person singular imperative of ouater

Further reading

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