tournesol

See also: tournésol

French

Les tournesols se tournent vers le soleil. ― Sunflowers turn towards the sun. (sense 1)

Poudre de tournesol ― Litmus powder (sense 3)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-der.

Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos)bor.

Latin tornus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin tornō

Italian tornare

Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥

Latin sōl

Italian Sole

Italian tornasolebor.

French tournesol

Borrowed from Italian tornasole.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuʁ.nə.sɔl/

• Audio:

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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Noun

tournesol m (plural tournesols)

2. (botany) sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

   Synonym: soleil

4. (botany) heliotrope (plant with flowers which turn to follow the sun)

   Synonym: héliotrope

6. (chemistry) litmus

Derived terms

• tournesol du Mexique
• tournesol mexicain

Further reading

• “tournesol”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• “tournesol”, in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse
• Littré, Émile (1873–1878), “tournesol”, in Dictionnaire de la langue française, Paris: L. Hachette

Anagrams

• souleront, soûleront