Advertisement
Advertisement
poilu
[ pwah-loo; French pwa-ly ]
noun
plural poilus
- a French common soldier.
poilu
/ ˈpwÉ‘ËluË; pwaly /
noun
- an infantryman in the French Army, esp one in the front lines in World War I
Discover More
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
Origin of poilu1
1910–15; < French, in earlier slang: tough individual, tough, brave, literally, hairy, haired; Middle French, Old French pelu ( plew ) < Vulgar Latin *±è¾±±ôÅ«³Ù³Ü²õ, equivalent to Latin pil ( us ) hair + Vulgar Latin *-Å«³Ù³Ü²õ, for Latin -Äå³Ù³Ü²õ -ate 1 ( e > oi by influence of poil hair < Latin pilus )
Discover More
˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins
Origin of poilu1
C20: from French, literally: hairy (that is, virile), from poil hair, from Latin pilus a hair
Discover More
Example Sentences
Examples have not been reviewed.
For their part, the poilus must have heard rumors of an evacuation.
From
The poilu thought it might be a new trick of the Germans.
From
Just as we departed I received an imposing-looking missive written in flowery English, which proved to be a letter from a French poilu.
From
One place, I comes across several scores of poilus—on their permissions similar—squatting on the ground and doing—what do you suppose?
From
Bless you! the poilus did the eating; I only did the seasoning and tasting.
From
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse