nuée

See also: nüe and nüè

French

FWOTD – 3 July 2013

Etymology

From nue +‎ -ée.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɥe/

Noun

nuée f (plural nuées)

1. (chiefly formal or literary) thick cloud
2. cloud (of arrows, insects)
3. horde, host, swarm (of people, birds, enemies etc.)
   • 1862, Victor Hugo, chapter 13, in Les Misérables, Tome I : Fantine, book 2:

     On n’entendait que les petits cris faibles d’une nuée d’oiseaux de passage qui traversaient le ciel à une hauteur immense.

     All that could be heard were the weak, distant cries of a flock of migratory birds crossing the sky at an immense height.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:nuée.

Derived terms

• nuée ardente

 

Further reading

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

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

nuée f (plural nuées)

1. (Jersey) cloud

Synonyms

• nouage