Dictionary of Louisiana Creole

The contents of this website remain the intellectual property of the following authors: Albert Valdman, Thomas A. Klingler, Margaret M. Marshall, Kevin J. Rottet

• Warning: There has been no censoring of the data, including offensive language or racial slurs.
• Orthography: Entries use the modern Kouri-Vini Orthography; however, the examples retain their original orthography based on Haitian Creole from the book. There are also several examples written in a French Orthography; these have also been left as is in the book. Additionally, the acute (à) and circumflex (â) when used for stress, preterit, or disambiguation, have not been included separately (i.e., aren't used).
• There are several variants for certain sounds that have not been included in the variants for entries. Please use the variants in quotations in place of the others when searching for words with the following sounds:
  • use "s" for /s/ ← s, ç
  • use "è" for /æ/ ← æ, è
  • use "i" for /ɪ/ ← ì, i
  • use "an" for /ã/ ← an, am, en, em
  • use "on" for /ɔ̃/ ← on, om
  • use "in" for /ɛ̃/ ← in, im
• Parts of Speech abbreviation correspondences:
  • adj. = Adjective
  • adv. = Adverb
  • adv.phr. = Adverbial Phrase
  • art.def. = Definite Article
  • art.indef. = Indefinite Article
  • conj. = Conjunction
  • dem. = Demonstrative
  • det. = Determiner
  • det.poss. = Possessive Determiner
  • f. = Feminine
  • int. = Interjection
  • interr.phr. = Interrogative Phrase
  • m. = Masculine
  • n. = Noun
  • n.phr. = Noun Phrase
  • num.card. = Cardinal Number
  • num.ord. = Ordinal Number
  • onom. = Onomatopoeia
  • pl. = Plural
  • place n. = Place Name
  • prep. = Preposition
  • pron. = Pronoun
  • pron.indef. = Indefinite Pronoun
  • pron.refl. = Reflexive Pronoun
  • pron.rel. = Relative Pronoun
  • prop.n. = Proper Noun
  • ptcl. = Preverbal Particle
  • sg. = Singular
  • v. = Verb
  • v.aux. = Auxiliary Verb
  • v.cop. = Copular Verb
  • v.intr. = Intransitive Verb
  • v.mod. = Modal Verb
  • v.phr. = Verb Phrase
  • v.refl. = Reflexive Verb
  • v.tr. = Transitive Verb
• Sources abbreviation correspondences (post-1960):
  • gen = (BT + CA + NE + PC + ST)
  • AN = Ancelet 1994
  • BT = Bayou Teche, field data
  • CA = Côte des Allemands, field data
  • DC = Clifton 1980
  • DT 77 = Tentchoff 1977
  • GY = Guidry, Richard
  • HW = Hebert Wiltz
  • MO 60 = Morgan 1960
  • MO 69 = Morgan 1969
  • MO 72 = Morgan 1972
  • NE = Neumann 1985
  • PC = Pointe Coupee, field data
  • ST = Saint Tammany, field data
  Sources abbreviation correspondences (pre-1960):
  • BD = Broussard 1942
  • BI = Bienvenu 1933
  • BO = Bourgeois 1927
  • DU = Durand 1930
  • FO T# = Fortier 1895
  • FO 1887 = Fortier 1887
  • GC1 = Cable 1886a
  • GC2 = Cable 1886b
  • JR = Jarreau 1931
  • KB = Krehbiel 1962
  • LA = Lavergne 1930
  • ME = Mercier 1881
  • ME 90 = Mercier 1890
  • ME 91 = Mercier 1891
  • PE = Perret 1933
  • T# = Neumann 1987 Text # (T12–T17 are satirized Creole, use with caution)
  • TM = Marie Augustin
  • TN = Tinker 1935
  • TP = Trappey 1916
  • WO = Marguerite Wogan

Website created by William S. Morales.

5139 entries found

• zan No sources ( pron., adj. ) zon BT, NE
  1. Some; en, quelques-uns.
     Ina zon ki rapòt en ta. There are some people who tattletale a lot. (BT); Li komonse fouye le patat. La bouki t ole zon! He began to dig up the potatoes. Then Bouki wanted some! (NE) See examples
  2. Any, none; en.
     Mo pa gen zon. I don’t have any. (BT)Some; des, quelques. Na zon dimoun ki ajèt ye rou. There are some people who buy their roux. (NE) See examples
• zanbrasad No sources ( n. )
  1. Hug, kiss; embrassade, baiser, bise.
     ♦ Mais so labouch ’ li si piti, c'est tou jist, camarades, si mo réussi béqué li après quat’ zembrassades. But her mouth is so small, friends, that I barely manage to give her a peck after four hugs. (T11) See examples
• zandrwa No sources ( n. )
  1. Place; endroit.
     ♦ Cé on 4 jiyet fédéro fé neg lib dan péhi Martinik; ça cé ein bon zandroi! It’s on a Fourth of July that the Fédérais freed the slaves on Martinique; that is a good place! (T13) See examples
• zanimo BT, CA, PC ( n. ) zalimo PC
  1. Animal; animal.
     En volan se pou koupe dufouraj de zanimo. A scythe is for cutting fodder for animals. (BT); Ena de pis-an-lit k ap sòrti. Zanimo-ye manj pa sa, se anmè anmè. The dandelions are coming out now. Animals don’t eat that, it’s very bitter. (CA) ♦ Té semblé comme si tout zanimaux té apé mercié Bon Djé. It seemed like all the animals were thanking God. (FO T3) See examples
• zapranti CA ( n. )
  1. Apprentice; apprenti.
     En charpontye gen en zapranti. L ape montre li pou fe la chèrpont . A carpenter has an apprentice. He’s showing him how to do carpentry. (CA) ♦ Françoèse, to raplé ti boutic la mo té gagnin rue Perdido, dans temps to té vande cala, quand mo zaprenti té Zozo? Frances, do you remember the little shop that I had on Perdido Street, when you were selling cala and when Zozo was my apprentice? (T31) See examples
• zariko CA, PC ( n. ) anko PC zadiko PC zaydiko PC
  1. Bean; haricot.
     Dan jarden no plante dechou, no plante zariko, no plante lamoutard, no plante radi. In our garden we planted cabbage, beans, mustard and radishes. (PC); Mo zariko-ye pa ase sezònen. My beans aren’t seasoned enough. (CA) ♦ Sa fe, li kanmanse donnen nouzòt la grenn zariko bouyi pou nou plante. So he started to give us boiled bean seeds to plant. (JR) REM: Holmes 1990: 85 says haricot is a general term for stringbean or snapbean. •zaydiko nen n.phr. (PC). Bush bean; espèce de haricot qui pousse sur une sorte de buisson. ( Phaseolus vulgaris humilis ) . •zariko nwar n.phr. Black bean; haricot noir. ♦ [Pou en] pikon, pronn fyel bet ou de zariko nwar e fe en kataplas. Sa atir pikon-la. For a thorn (in the skin), take animal gall or black beans and make a poultice. That draws out the thom. (BI) •zariko parese n.phr. (PC). Bush bean; espèce de haricot qui pousse sur une sorte de buisson. ( Phaseolus vulgaris humilis ). REM: The speaker explains that they are called zariko parese because they are too lazy to climb a pole, unlike ‘pole beans’. •ariko ronm n.phr. (PC). Pole bean, runner bean; haricot à rames. •zariko rouj n,phr. (PC); zadiko rouj (PC). Red bean, kidney bean; haricot rouge. Te fe en jarden tou kalte zariko, rouj-ye, blon-ye... He planted a garden with every kind of bean, red beans, green beans... (PC) •ariko tann v.phr. (PC). Green bean, snap bean; haricot vert. See examples
  2. Snap bean, green bean; haricot vert.
     Te gen tou zariko nou te ka monje nou te gen li dan jarden-la. We had all the beans we could eat in the garden. (PC) •gran ariko n.phr. (PC). A long snap bean; un grand haricot. •zariko vèr n.phr. (CA). Snap bean, green bean; haricot vert. Enave en kantite zariko vèr o bou-d-ran. Sete dri avèk zariko me o milye enave pa. There were a lot of snap beans at the headland. It was thick with them but in the middle there weren’t any. (CA) See examples
• zarinn BT ( n. )
  1. Nostril; narine.
     Èl gen de zarin ovè konm in vach. She has wide nostrils like a cow. (BT) See examples
• zartyèr PC ( n. ) zartyè CA
  1. Garter; jarretière.
     Ye te gen de zartyèr. They had garters. (PC); No te gen de zartyè pou tchanbon deba. We had garters to hold up our stockings. (CA) See examples
• zarèt CA, PC ( n. ) zarét PC
  1. Spike, sharp point (on the fins of a catfish, on a plant); pointe piquante (sur les nageoires du poisson-chat, sur une plante).
     So zarèt-ye se pike twa. The spikes on his fins would prick you. (PC); Avon to konen nètwaye to pwason, ye gen pou kase zarèt. Si to pa kase li, l ap pike twa. Before you can clean your fish, you’ve got to break the spikes. If you don’t break them, they’ll prick you. (CA) See examples
• zigzag CA ( n. )
  1. Zigzag; zigzag.
     Pito marche drwat li t ape fe zigzag. Li dwaz èt sou. Rather than walking straight he was zigzagging back and forth. He must be drunk. (CA) ♦ Ma zamé graté zigzag on papié avé plim. I have never scratched zigzags on paper with a pen. (T13) See examples
• zimaj No sources ( n. ) limaj CA
  1. Image; image.
     Li te gen en riban kòm en lakrwa avèk en ti limaj tache avèk en nepengn. It had a ribbon tied like a cross with an image tied to it with a pin. (CA) ♦ Yé poignin Saint Magloire, in bon vié négue congo, mo té metté là pou gardé zimage Miché Kellogg, et yé fiche li à laporte. They grabbed St. Magloire, a good old Congo black man that I had stationed there to guard the image of Mr. Kellogg, and they threw him out. (T34) See examples
• zimans No sources ( adj. )
  1. Immense; immense.
     ♦ Mo té tandé parlé moun de ein revolution zimmense, mais com mo té fils d’ein baboon mo té pas peur dé laviolence. I had heard people talk about an immense revolution, but since I was the son of a baboon I was not afraid of violence. (T38) See examples
• zindèmnité No sources ( n. )
  1. Indemnity; indemnité.
     ♦ Maintnant mo oulé vous publié dans vous gazette mo pli responsabe pour statue Miché Kellogg - mo pli oulé personne gagnin droit réclamé moin zindemnité. Now I want you to publish in your newspaper that I am no longer responsible for the statue of Mr. Kellogg. I no longer want anyone claiming indemnities against me. (T34) See examples
• zink CA ( n. ) zinngk PC
  1. Kitchen sink; évier.
     Dan mo zenk, ena de robinen, en pou dolo cho e en pou dolo fre. In my sink, there are faucets, one for hot water and one for cold water. (CA) REM: This word may be the fusion of French zinc with English sink or it may reflect the pronunciation of sink as [siyk] Louisiana. See examples
• zink CA, PC ( n. ) zinyk BT
  1. Tin; étain, ferblanc.
     La kouvèrtu sè te fe e du bwa, la ye achte du zenk. The roof was made of wood, but then they bought tin. (PC); Fèr-blan, se fe an zenk. Ye sèrvi en fey zenk pou kouvèr lamezon. Tinplate, it’s made of tin. They use a sheet of tin to cover houses. (CA) See examples
  2. Tin roof; toit en étain, toit en fer-blanc. (CA; PC)
• zinng No sources ( int. )
  1. Zing! houp-là, hop!
     ♦ Et «zing» Lapin parti , mais li parti trop tard. And ‘zing’, Rabbit left, but he left too late. (T26) See examples
• zirab CA, NE ( adj. )
  1. Revolting, disgusting, repulsive; dégoutant, écoeurant.
     En mouch se zafèr pli zirab ye gen. A fly is the most repulsive thing there is. (NE) See examples
  2. Miserable; misérable.
     Kan to gen lapikot, sa fe twa grate. To zirab. When you have chicken pox, it makes you scratch. You’re miserable. (CA) See examples
• zonbi CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Zombie, ghost; zombi, revenant, fantôme, esprit.
     Li te debout la trankin kòm en zonbi. Li p ap di en parol. He was standing there quietly like a zombie. He didn’t say a word. (CA) ♦ Mari la prend ti garçon la pou resté avec li et li té cré li té ein zombi, pasqué li té pas dit coman li té connin ça li té dit. The husband took the little boy to live with him, and he thought he was a zombie, because he didn’t say how he knew the things that he said. (FO T27) •’bals zombis’ n.phr. Zombie dance; danse aux zombis, cf. bal zonbi See examples
  2. Witchdoctor, wizard; sorcier guérisseur; sorcier.
     ♦ Li té kouri lékol avek vié kokodri ki té in Gran Zombi. He went to school with the old alligator who was a great witch-doctor. (TN) See examples
  3. Drunkard; soûlard, ivrogne.
     Li pa konen bwa kòm lezot. Li bwa si tèlman labwason li te sanble en zonbi. He doesn’t know how to drink like others. He drinks so much alcohol that he looks like a drunkard. (CA) See examples
• zonng BT, CA, PC, ST ( n. ) onng PC zong NE
  1. Nail (of finger or toe); ongle.
     Ye te rache nòt zyeu, rache nòt zong kom-sa-la, rache nòt zong zòrtey... They plucked out our eyes, pulled off our fingernails like that, pulled off our toe nails. (NE) ♦ Caouène pas peur zongles Congo. The turtle is not afraid of the Congo’s claws. (T32) See examples
  2. Claw; griffe.
     En grif ou enn onng. A claw or a nail. (PC) See examples
• zonyon CA, NE, PC ( n. ) zanyon PC zonyan CA zonñon CA, ST dézònyon CA, ST zonyon CA, ST
  1. Onion; oignon.
     Mo fe en rou, ave farin e zonyon, en ti pe lagres. I make a roux with flour and onions, a little grease. (PC); To koup to fevi. To mèt sa dan chodyèr e de lagrès. To touf li byen, zongnon e tou. You cut up your okra. You put it in a pot with grease. You smother it well, with onions and everything. (CA) ♦ Tou so patat-ye, de kann, mai, e zonyon te mennen li en bon pri. All of his potatoes, his sugar cane, corn and onions brought him a good price. (JR) See examples
• zoranj MO 60, PC ( n. ) joranj PC zoronj NE jòranj CA, ST
  1. Orange; orange.
     M ape pliche en zoranj . I’m peeling an orange. (PC); Leu maten mo bwa en vèr joranj. In the morning I drink a glass of orange juice. (CA) ♦ Zoranger té en flére tout Vannée; yavé flére et piti zorange, et zorange mire tout temps. I’ll tell you that the orange trees were in flower all year long, and the oranges were always ripe. (FO T20) •pye zoranj n.phr. (PC); pye joranj (PC). Orange tree; oranger. See examples
• zoranjé No sources ( n. ) joranjé CA
  1. Orange tree; oranger.
     Lontan pase, no te sèrvi pikan joranje pou fermen no zandouy. Long ago, we used the thorns from the orange tree to close our andouille sausages. (CA) ♦ Derrière la maison yé té gagnin plein zoranger, et nabe yé té si grand qué yé té fait bon nombe. Behind the house there were a lot of orange trees, and the trees were so big that they made good shade. (FO T20) See examples
• zordi CA ( n. ) zourdzi BT zòdi CA zòrdur ST zòrdyi ST òrdur PC
  1. Trash, garbage; ordures.
     Va chte sa don le zourdzi dèriyè la mezon. Go throw this in the trash behind the house. (BT); Tou di-long o bòr chemen enave en ta zòdi. All along the edge of the road there was a lot of trash. (CA) See examples
  2. Brushwood; broussailles, brindilles.
     To gen pou pran en rato pou rakle zordi. You have to take a rake to rake up the brushwood. (CA) See examples
• zouti BT, CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Tool, implement; outil.
     Trenno te sèrvi pour menne le zouti dan l klo. The sled was used to carry tools to the field. (BT); Moun ki dan la vwazinaj, y ole prète zouti de Jwa. The people in the neighborhood, sometimes they want to borrow tools. (PC); En chiko tèz se en zouti ye sèr sa andan chan-la. A stubble digger is a tool they use in the field. (CA) ♦ Tou princes yé avé zeine zan pran la basse avé zoutils, couri dans diboi et comancé batte narbe pou fé bato. All of the princes and the young people took foodstuffs and tools, ran into the woods and started to fell trees to make boats. (T7) See examples
• zozo PC ( n. )
  1. Penis, vagina; pénis, vagin.
     En zozo, en pin, e to gen en bibit. Bibit se mèm zafè. Se trwa paròl dan enn. A [zozo], a [pin], you’ve got a [bibit], [bibit] is the same thing. It’s three words in one (i.e. for the same thing). (PC) See examples
• zozo No sources ( n. )
  1. Bird; oiseau, cf. zwazo
• zumilyant No sources ( n. )
  1. Humiliating; humiliant.
     ♦ Oh! oh! ... zidée là trop zumiliante! Oh! Oh! That idea is too humiliating. (T32) See examples
• zwa gen ( n. ) dézwa CA, PC, ST wa MO 60
  1. Goose; oie.
     Sa-fe kon le von-d-nòr komonse soufle, le zwa e kanar se pase. So when the north winds began to blow, the geese and ducks went by. (NE); En mal zwa, en femèl zwa. A male goose, a female goose. (BT); En femèl dezwa e en mal dezwa. A female goose and a male goose. (PC) ♦ Le roi li té oulé sauvé so dézoi et li mandé Jean ou pou mené yé. The king wanted to save his geese, and he asked John where he should put them. (FO T26) See examples
• zwazo MO 60, NE, PC, ST ( n. ) lwazo PC zozo CA, NE
  1. Bird; oiseau.
     Zwazo-la e chante dan dibwa-la. The bird is singing in the tree. (PC); Kèkfwa a onz-èr mokèr-ye ap imite tou lez ot zozo, en pèrdri, en kardinal. Sometimes at 11:00 the mockingbirds are imitating all the other birds, a partridge, a cardinal. (CA) ♦ Li té connin chanté si bien et imité tout zozo si bien qué souvent yé té cré c'était Nita qui tapé chanté dans nabe. He knew how to sing so well and imitate all the birds so well that often they thought it was Nita who was singing in the trees. (FO T20) •zwazo bleu n.phr. (PC; ST). 1) Blue jay; geai. 2) Bluebird; rouge-gorge bleu. (Genus Sialia ). •zwazo flœr n.phr. (PC); zozo flè (CA). Hummingbird; colibri. ( Archilocus colubris). •zwazo paradi n.phr. (CA). Bird-of-paradise flower; oiseau-de-paradis. ( Strelitzia reginae). Mam te gen en dibwa zozo paradi. Sete vayan. Mom had a bird of paradise shrub. It was beautiful. (CA) See examples
• zwi CA ( n. )
  1. Gill; ouïe (d’un poisson).
     Pwason so zwi sa to manj pa. Se sa li gen chak kote dan latèt. You don’t eat the fish’s gills. It’s what he’s got on each side of its head. (CA) See examples
• zwit No sources ( n. ) lézwit NE dézwit CA, PC, ST dé zuit BT
  1. Oyster; huître.
     Mo mè mo le zwit, mo mè mo le chevrèt. I put in my oysters, I put in my shrimp. (NE); Mo trape en dezwit. I caught an oyster. (PC); De kòkiy de zuit. Oyster shells. (BT) ♦ Dé n’hommes tapé promnain, ain jou , au bord la mer. Yé tous les dés ensembe oi ain dézouite parter. Two men were walking one day by the sea. Both of them together saw an oyster on the ground. (T24) See examples
• zye BT, NE, PC, ST ( n. ) zyé CA, NE, PC, ST zyè PC ènn œy PC (lé)z ye PC
  1. Eye; oeil, yeux.
     Ye gen pou ote mwa en ti kataral dan mo zyeu gòch. They have to remove a little cataract from my left eye. (BT); To gen zye pli gro ke to vant. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach. (CA) ♦ [Pou] mal o zye , to ramas de kayou la grel, e to gard ye don en boutey pou lave to zye-ye. For sore eyes, you collect hailstones, and you save them in a bottle to wash your eyes with. (BI) •ba l œy (bat le zye) v.phr. To bat an eye, blink; battre de l’oeil, cligner des yeux. cf. bat •fe gro zye v.phr. To look angrily; regarder d’un air fâché. Fe pa gro zye apre man. Mo kapab fe otan e la batay se pran plas. Don’t look angrily at me. I can do the same and then there would be a fight. (CA) •fe zye dou (apre) v.phr. (CA; PC); fe zyeu dou (ST). To wink (at), make eyes (at); faire les yeux doux (à). Fe zye dou apre twa. To wink at you. (PC); Li enterèse dan mwa. L ap fe zye dou apre man. He’s interested in me. He’s winking at me. (CA) ♦ Li té lorgnin fille lé roi, et fille lé roi té lorgnin li oussi; pi vini zié dou pa pou zoué, et pi ouzote tandé mouen, yé fiancé en cassette. He was ogling the king’s daughter also, and the king’s daughter was ogling him too; then came the winking that was not just joking, and now hear me out, they became secretly engaged. (T8) •frenmen (se) zye v.phr. To close one’s eyes; se fermer les yeux. ♦ Lœ kriminèl frenmen se zye. The criminal closed his eyes. (JR) •(gen) piti zye v.phr. (CA). To be sleepy-eyed; avoir les petits yeux, •zyè kroch n.phr. (PC); zye kroch (CA; PC). Lazy eye, crossed eyes; oeil (yeux) qui louche(nt). Li gen en zyè kroch , o li gen dè zyè kròch , èn e garde lòt. He has a lazy eye, or he’s cross-eyed, one of them looks at the other one. (PC) •zyeu louj n.phr. (BT). Crossed eyes; yeux qui louchent. Sa gad pa vaiyon , in fonm èk de zyeu louj. It doesn’t look nice, a woman with crossed eyes. (BT) •zyeu negwiy n.phr. (ST). Eye of a needle; chas. Mo va hale dufil dan zyeu negwiy. I’m going to grab the thread in the eye of the needle. (ST) See examples
  2. Sugar cane bud; bourgeon, oeil de la canne à sucre.
     Sa se zye ki COME UP ka to plante li. It is the buds which grow when you plant it. (PC) See examples
  3. Hole; trou.
     ♦ Macaque là té gagnin so latête vloppé dans ein mouchoir bleu, en haut so dos ein vié jaquette , et so kilotte li té plein zyeux. The monkey had his head wrapped in a blue handkerchief, and on his back an old jacket, and his pants were full of holes. (T36) See examples
• zèf No sources ( n. )
  1. Egg; oeuf. cf. dezœf
• zèr-boutéy CA, NE, ST ( n. )
  1. Splinter of glass; écharde, éclat de verre.
     Li pike en zèr-boutey don so pye. He got a splinter of glass in his foot. (NE); Li lese tonbe mo vaz . Enave zèr-boutey tou partou. He dropped my vase. There were splinters of glass everywhere. (CA); ♦ Blanche gratté so dos, mais so lamain té tout coupé vié fame la té gagnin verre bouteille enho so dos. Blanche scratched her back, but her hand was all cut up, the old woman had broken glass on her back. (T30) See examples
• zèrb No sources ( n. )
  1. Grass, weed; herbe, mauvaise herbe. cf. lèrb
• zèrbay PC ( n. )
  1. Vegetation, foliage; végétation, feuillage.
     En rozo se den en bayou, èna tou kalte zèrbay, tou kalite kichò ki va dan bayou-la. A reed is in a bayou, there are all kinds of vegetation, all kinds of things that grow in the bayou. (PC) See examples
• zès No sources ( n. )
  1. Activities, movements; activités.
     ♦ Ga zess piti zozo qu’apé fait nique partout. Look at the activities of the birds making nests everywhere. (T27) See examples
• zégrét PC ( n. ) zégré CA
  1. Egret; aigrette.
     Mo wa en zegret. I saw an egret. (PC); Dibwa-mare se la ou gro-bèk zegre fe ye nik. In button-bush, that’s where the American bittern and egrets make their nests. (CA) •zegret ble n.phr. (PC). Little blue heron; espèce de héron. ( Florida caerulea caerulea ). •zegret blon n.phr. (PC). Snowy egret; espèce d’aigrette. ( Egrettea thula ); Great egret; espèce d’aigrette. See examples
• zéla No sources ( n. )
  1. Overexcitement; surexcitation, •fe le zela
     v.phr. (BT). To be an eager beaver, be (over)zealous; faire du zèle. To fe tro le zela kon nou gen la konpayi. You get overexcited when we have company over. (BT) See examples
• zépis CA ( n. ) zépi CA
  1. Spice; épice.
     Kan mo te fe la bisk, dabòr mo mete tou me zepis dan larou. When I made bisque, first I put all my spices in the roux. (CA) See examples
  2. Combination of onions, garlic, sweet pepper and parsley; combinaison d’oignons, ail, piment doux, et persil.
     Kan y ape fe en frikase, to toufe zepi-ye e to me to lavyann. When you make a fricassee, you smother your onions and garlic mixture and you put in your meat. (CA) See examples
• zépouzé No sources ( v.tr. )
  1. To marry; épouser, se marier avec.
     ♦ Et ça qué y’en a dé pli drôle, li té même oulé zépouser eine femme blanche et créole. And what is funniest is that he even wanted to marry a white Creole woman. (T37) See examples
• zépron CA, PC ( n. ) zépran CA, PC
  1. Oarlock, mounting in a boat to hold the oars; tolet (d’aviron), dame (de nage).
     To gen en skif o en chalon, e to gen de zepron chak kote-la. You have a skiff or a flat-bottomed boat, and you’ve got oarlocks on both sides. (PC) See examples
  2. Spur; éperon.
     Li pike chval-la dan so kot-ye e zepron-ye pou fe l ale pli vit. He stuck the horse in the sides with the spurs to make him go faster. (CA) ♦ Lapen met li enn pèr zepron e li monte bouki. Rabbit put on a pair of spurs and mounted Bouki. (JR) See examples
  3. Spur (on a rooster); éperon (d’un coq).
     Kok-la pike man e so zepran. Se pwazon. The rooster jabbed me with his spurs. They’re poisonous. (CA) See examples
  4. Spike on the fins of a catfish; pointe piquante sur les nageoires d’un poisson-chat.
     Ye a kote, ye anho, ye de plas. Sè en zepran. ‘Spurs’ are on the sides [of the catfish] and on top, they are in two places. (PC) See examples
• zérison CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Irregularities, bumps on the skin (of a fruit, vegetable); bosses sur la peau (d’un fruit, d’un légume).
     SQUASH Kan to kwi li , li blan. E li gen de ti zerison anrantour li A squash is white when you cook it. And it has bumps on it. (PC) See examples
• zérons CA, PC, NE ( n. ) zérans PC, ST
  1. Blackberry bush, bramble; ronce, mûrier sauvage. (Rubus spp.).
     Mo ale ramase demir e mo pike mo lamen an zerons-la. I went to pick berries and I pricked my hand on the bush. (CA) ♦ «Men, tanpri, pa jete mwen dan zerons-ye dèryè vou baryè-la. Sa va et tro en move lamò. ‘‘ But please do not throw me into the briar behind your fence. That would be too horrible a death. (JR) See examples
• zétaj PC ( n. ) jétaj CA
  1. Floor, story (of a building); étage.
     To ka BUILD la tanm-la trwa kat zetaj . Ka mèt moun an-o la ichka trwa kat zetaj. You can build the tomb up to three or four levels. You can put people in there up to three or four levels high. (PC); Se en lamezon an de jetaj. Li gran. It’s a two-story house. It’s big. (CA) See examples
• zétinsèl No sources ( n. ) zétésyèl CA
  1. Spark; étincelle.
     Si to te mèt tro dibwa andan fòye-la, ye te gen zetesyèl e sa fou lamezon an fe. If you put too much wood in the fireplace, there would be a lot of sparks, and it set the house on fire. (CA) ♦ Dipi so pié qui si mignon jusqu’à so gran tignon, tou quichoge, qui en haut mo belle brûlé comm’zétincelle. From her foot which is so delicate to her big hair bun, everything on my sweetheart glitters like a spark. (T11) See examples
• zétrèn No sources ( n. ) zétrèl CA
  1. New Year’s gift; étrenne.
     Li dòn man en zetrèl e li di mann bonjou bon lannen. He gave me a New Year’s gift and he told me, «Hello ! Happy New Year!» (CA) ♦ A lafin mois-ci là c’est temps pou donne zétrenne. At the end of this month is the time for giving New Year’s gifts. (T27) See examples
• zévènman No sources ( n. )
  1. Event; événement.
     ♦ Mo li dan mo labibe tou zévenmen ki rivé on gran jou cilala. I read in my Bible all of the events that happened on that great day. (T13) See examples
• zòrtèy CA, MO 60, NE, PC, ST ( n. ) lòrtèy PC zòtéy PC zotéy PC
  1. Toe; orteil.
     La to gen senk zòrtèy. E to gen en gro lòrtèy, e to gen en ti lòrtèy. E to gen trwaz òt lòrtèy. You have five toes. You have a big toe and a little toe and you have five other toes. (PC); Mo bite apre lachèj-la e mo fe mo zòrtèy mal. I stumbled against the chair and I hurt my toe. (CA) ♦ Mo lainmain yé dipis... la tête jisqu’à zorteil. I like them from their head to their toe. (T27) •gro lòrtèy n.phr. (PC); gro zotei (PC); gro zòrtey (CA). Big toe; gros orteil. •zòrtey nèg n.phr. (CA). Brazil nut; noix du Brésil. No te va achte en sak de nwazèt pou kenz sou. Enave denwa, dezalmann, deglann, de zòrtey nèg osi. We would buy a big sack of nuts for 15 cents. There were walnuts, almonds, acoms, Brazil nuts too. (CA) See examples
• zòrèy CA, PC, ST ( n. ) òrèy BT oréy BT zoréy NE, PC, ST zorèy PC
  1. Ear; oreille.
     Mo zorèy fe mal. My ears hurt. (PC) ♦ Li trape Lapen par so de zorey-ye. They caught Rabbit by his two ears. (JR) See examples
  2. Moldboard; oreille (d’une charme).
     Enn chari gen enn orey. Kan to rant dan la tèr konm sa le, le fe la tèr kapote konm sa pou fe ton ran juch en bòr. A plow has a moldboard. When you dig into the earth with it, it throws dirt to one side to make your row just on one side. (BT) See examples