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
Information on contents and orthography:
(see more)
- 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
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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
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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
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fwatèz
CA
(
n.
)
fòtèz
CA
-
Blue runner snake, coach whip snake; espèce de serpent. (Zamenis flagelliformis). REM: The Random House Dict, identifies the coach whip snake as Masticophis flagellum.
En fwatèz vyen dèryèr twa e si li trap twa, l ap ale taye to lajanm e so tche. A coach whip comes up behind you and if he catches you, he’ll whip your leg with his tail. (CA)
See examples
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fwayé
MO 60, NE, PC
(
n.
)
foyé
CA, PC
fwayè
PC
fòyè
PC
fouyé
CA
-
Fireplace, hearth; foyer, cheminée.
Nou mè nou dibwa dan nou fwaye. We put our wood in the fireplace. (PC); To koup dibwa frèn pou brile dan fouye pou livè. You cut ash wood to bum in the fireplace in the winter. (CA) ♦ La to pronn li e to ponn li don to fwaye. You take it and hang it in your fireplace. (BI)
See examples
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fwinn
PC
(
n.
)
fwènng
PC
fwinng
PC
-
Louisiana weasel; belette de Louisiane. (Mustela narboricensis arthuri).
En fwing, lapo-la vo bon larjan. T a kòrche li ta a gen ABOUT petet venn-senk pyas pou li. A weasel, the fur is worth a lot of money. If you skin it you’ll get maybe twenty-five dollars for it. (PC) ♦ Pou ça, to ben menti, to connin ben ké hibou, fouine avé blette apé manzé tou poule, é to vini di cé moin. You are a liar, you know very well that the owls, the polecats and the weasels are eating all the chickens, and you come and say it is 1. (FO 1887)
See examples
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fwèt
BT, PC
(
n.
)
fwét
NE, PC
-
Whip; fouet.
Kou chache en fwet mo gen taye twa. Go get a whip, I’m going to beat you. (PC) ♦ Li prend ein bon fouette et li taillé so femme jisqua li té perde connaissance. He took a good whip and he beat his wife until she lost consciousness. (FO T15) •fwèt a bef n.phr. (PC). Bullwhip; fouet à boeuf.
See examples
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Whip (part of a flower); fouet (partie d’une fleur).
Nave en pye d flœr ke lapèle en bouke mariye, e pi te fe de gran fwèt, de grann flèch, e pi de tou pitit flœr blan. There was a flower they called a bridal bouquet, it made big whips, big spires, and then tiny little white flowers. (BT)
See examples
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fwèté
BT
(
v.tr.
)
fwaté
CA, PC
fouèté
PC
-
To whip; fouetter.
To pa bon. Mo vafwate twa e balèn-la. You’re not good. I'm going to whip you with the switch. (CA) ♦ Men lòt-la te konnen fwate nouzòt tou tan. But the other one used to whip us all the time. (JR)
See examples
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To whip, stir, beat; fouetter.
Mo krwa pa li fouète li ase lantan. I don’t think he beat it long enough. (PC)
See examples
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To thin (a liquid); éclaircir.
Sa se pou fwate to disan. That is to thin your blood. (PC)
See examples
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fyansé
CA, PC
(
n.
)
fionsé
NE
fiyansé
CA, ST
-
Fiancé(e); fiancé(e).
Sa se mo fyanse. M ap ale marye li. Dan JANUARY, li sra mo madam. That’s my fiancée. I’m going to marry her. In January, she’ll be my wife. (CA) 2, Girlfriend; copine, petite amie. (PC) REM: Speaker at PC considered this a French term. On CA this term is used to refer to the girl; the boy is called promi.
See examples
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fyansé
CA, ST
(
v.intr.
)
-
To become engaged; se fiancer.
Sa se mo bag li dòn man kan no fiyanse. That’s the ring he gave me when we got engaged. (CA) ♦Michié Macaque vini fiancé avec Mamzelle la, et soi so mariage li invité so zami pou souper la. Mr. Monkey became engaged to the lady, and the evening of his marriage he invited his friends to supper there. (FO T9)
See examples
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fyon
No sources
(
n.,
v.phr.
)
’fé so fion’
No sources
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To put on airs; se donner des airs.
♦ Bourriquet là oua cété pa le peine, li pran so chimin, mé li té pa si bête fé so fion avé so geste comme li té coutime. Donkey saw that he could do nothing, so he went away; but he was not so stupid as to put on airs as he usually did. (FO 1887)
See examples
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fyout
No sources
(
int.
)
-
Rats! Fichtre!
♦ Tan yé rivé dézième zalon, Compair Chivreil siflé: foute! When they arrived at the second goal, Brer Deer whistled, ‘Rats!’ (T5)
See examples
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fyèl
BT, CA
(
n.
)
fyél
PC
-
Gall, bile; fiel, bile.
Enanfyel dan bef mo pans. There is gall in steers, I think. (PC); Mo bwa in mèdsin e se amè konm dzi fyèl. I drank a medication and it’s bitter like gall. (BT); To ot en fyèl apre fwa kochon , fwa chawi, fwa lapen, fwa kirey. The take out the bile from pig’s liver, raccoon liver, rabbit liver, squirrel liver. (CA) ♦ Kon to gen en pikon pron dolo la ki don fyel bef epi fe en kataplonm avek la farin mayi. When you have a thorn (in your skin), take some of the water that is in bull gall and make a poultice with corn flour. [‘fiel’] (LA)
See examples
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Gall bladder; vésicule biliaire.
El spère tro ta pou fe wète so fyèl. She waited too long to have her gall bladder removed. (BT)
See examples
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fyèr
CA, NE
(
adj.
)
-
Proud; fier.
Na zon don ye-la ki te ramase. Lèz-la ki te petèt pa tro fyèr. Some of them took up a collection. Perhaps it was those who weren’t too proud. (NE); Li t ape marche kòm en pon. Li te si fyèr. He was strutting like a peacock. He was so proud. (CA) ♦ Ein jou yé té gagnin ein joli fille mais li té fière. One day they had a pretty daughter, but she was proud. (FO T19)
See examples
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fyèv
BT, NE, PC
(
n.
)
lafyèv
PC, CA
lafyév
PC
lafiyèv
ST
-
Fever; fièvre.
Ye sre bave en ta, galope kom en ptit fort fyèv. They were drooling a lot and running something like a strong little fever. (BT); Se pron kalomel pou lafyèv, epi disel. They used to take calomel for fever, and some salt. (PC); To mèt en tèrmomèt anba so lalang pou wa koman ho so lafyèv ye. You put a thermometer under his tongue to see how high his fever is. (CA); Li va galope en lafiyèv. He is going to run a fever. (ST) ♦ Pou lafyèv e en piti ki gen mal blon. For the fever and for a child with sores in the mouth. (BI) •koupe lafyèv v.phr. To break a fever; faire tomber, couper, la fièvre, cf. koupe •gro lafyèv n.phr. (PC); gros fyèv (PC). High fever; forte fièvre. Ti garson-sa-a gen en gro lafyèv. That boy has a high fever. (PC) •lafyèv ho n.phr. (CA); lafyev ho (PC). High fever; forte fièvre. L ap brile e lafyèv. Li gen lafyèv ho. He’s burning up with a fever. He’s got a high fever. (CA) •lafyèv frisan n.phr. (CA); fyèv frison (CA). Chills; refroidissements. L ap tranble. Li gen lafyèv frisan. He’s shaking. He’s got the chills. (CA) •fyev skarlatin n.phr. (PC). Scarlet fever; fièvre scarlatine. Li gen lafyev skarlatin. She has scarlet fever. (PC) •fyèv lant n.phr. Slight fever; fièvre lente. ♦[Pou] fyèv lant, pronn di te mongilye (en narb konm en peche) e fe en di te pou bwar trwa fwa par jou ont to repa-ye. For a slow fever, take some marsh elder tea (a tree like a peach tree) and make a tea to drink three times a day between meals. (BI) • lafyèv tranasont n.phr. Slight fever; fièvre lente. ♦[Pou] malaria ou lafyèv tranasont, to pronn di mongilye e pi to fe en gro pake. For malaria or the slow fever, take some marsh elder and make a big bundle. (BI) •lafyèv tifoid n.phr. (PC); lafyèv tifòid (PC). Typhoid (fever); fièvre typhoïde. Piti-la trape lafyèv tifoid. Lamezon te karantinen. The child caught typhoid fever. The house was quarantined. (CA) •lafyèv malèrya n.phr. (CA); lafyev merelya (PC). Typhoid (fever); fièvre typhoïde, •fyèv deu ra n.phr. (PC). Typhoid (fever); fièvre typhoïde, •lafyèv jòn n.phr. (CA). Yellow fever; fièvre jaune. Lafyèv jón se kan to zye-ye tou jón e to lafigir osi. Yellow fever is when your eyes are all yellow and your face too. (CA)
See examples
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Temperature; température.
Prann to lafièv. To take someone’s temperature. (PC)
See examples
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fyòl
No sources
(
n.
)
-
Phial, flask; bouteille, fiole.
♦ En bas nabe yé tout qualité flairs dans moune té la; quand ein moune té respiré c'est comme si yé té débouché ein fiole lessence dans ein la chambre. Under the trees there was every kind of flower in the world. When someone breathed it was as if they had opened a bottle of perfume in a bedroom. (FO T15)
See examples
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fè
PC
(
n.
)
-
Fair; foire.
O, mo te kònen fe gro fè, mo te kònè fe gonmbo pou von, plarin. Oh, I used to participate in big fairs, I made gumbo to sell, and pralines. (PC)
See examples
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Dance, party; bal, fête, soirée.
Nou travay tou la smenn, an sanmdi nou gen fè. We work all week, and then we have a big party on Saturday. (PC)
See examples
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fèr
BT, CA, PC
(
n.
)
fè
PC
-
Iron; fer.
Kan l char-la mont disu, i va ale drwat swiv le rèl. Nave de bar di fèr e pi disu de bwa an travèr. When the train goes up, it goes straight and follows the rails. There were iron bars and then on top, there were wooden planks across them. (BT) ♦ Néléphant prend halé, halé, la corde la té raide comme ein barre fer, li té apé craqué. The elephant started to pull and pull, the rope was as taut as an iron rod and was starting to crack. (FO T1) •an fèr adj.phr. (BT; CA); on fèr (PC). Made of iron; en fer. Ye gen dè poto on fèr. They have iron posts. (PC); Me sète an f èr. Mo SMOKEHOUSE m angaje en soudèr pou fe li. But it was made of iron. My smokehouse, I hired a welder to make it. (BT); Ena de chodyèr an fèr, de lapwal osi. There are iron pots, iron frying pans too. (CA) ♦ Si yé té mété toi dan ain bon lacage avé bon baro enfer, to sré pa cacé arien. If they put you in a cage with good iron bars, you wouldn’t be breaking anything. (ME) •fèr a pase n.phr. (CA; PC; ST); fè (PC). (Clothing) iron; fer à repasser. To pas lenj evèk en fèr a pase. To mèt li an stov pou chofe li. You iron clothes with an iron. You put it on the stove to heat it. (CA) ♦ Là li çorti aine ki té samblé kom si li té pacé avé ein fair yé arpacé chimige djinkelmaine. Then he brought out one that looked like it had been ironed with an iron you use to press a gentleman’s shirts. (T17) •fèr a chval n.phr. Horseshoe; fer à cheval. ♦ Pa gagnin ain forgeron dan tou la ville ki capab forgé ain fer à choil pli vite pacé moin. There is not a blacksmith in all the city who can make a horseshoe faster than I can. (ME) fèr-blan n. (CA; PC); fè-blon, fèr-blon (PC). 1. Tin; étain, fer-blanc. Fèr-blan, se fe an zenk. Ye sèrvi en fey zenk pou kouvèr lamezon. Tin, it’s made of tin. They used a sheet of tin to cover the house. (CA) ♦ Mo déposé treize escalins dans laBanque Miché Van Norden, dans in boéte enfer blanc. I deposited thirteen escalins in a tin box in Mr. Van Norden’s bank. (T34) •pòt fèr-blan n.phr. Tin pan, baking pan; casserole en étain, cf. pat 2. Any metal container; récipient en métal. Pou trape fifole, ye te gen en fèr-blan ki te gen en lòd trou ndan 1. To catch will-o’-the-wisps, they had a bucket with a lot of holes in it. (PC) ♦ Li couri dans la quisine, li prend ein grand ferblanc plein la braise et la cende chaud. He went into the kitchen, he took a big pan full of embers and hot ashes. (FO T6) •fèr-blan plat n.phr. (PC; ST); fè-blan plat, fèr-blon plat, fè-blon plat (PC). 1) Dishpan; bassine à vaisselle. Mo te rèt dan vyeu lamezon. Te konnen koule. E n te bije met dè fè-blon plat, labay; pou trape dolo kan lapli tanm. I used to live in an old house. It leaked, and we had to put out dishpans and tubs to catch the water when it rained. (PC) 2) Baking pan, tin pan; casserole en étain. Vou f e li lèvè, e tan vou dipen lève dan fè-blan plat-la, vou ote li v mèt li dan en lòt PAN dan en lòt pobon pou kwi li. You let it rise, and when the bread has risen in its baking pan, you take it out and put it in another to bake it. (PC) •fèr-blan vesèi n.phr. (CA). Dishpan; bassine à vaisselle. Ye sèr pi en fèr-blan vesèi pou lave lavesèl. They don’t use dishpans anymore to wash dishes. (CA)
See examples
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fèrm
No sources
(
adj.
)
-
Firm; ferme.
♦ Yé méprisé nous; aussi, resté ferme. They made fun of us; so, remain firm. (T35)
See examples
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fèrm*
No sources
(
n.
)
fanm
PC
fonm
PC
-
Farm; ferme.
Tou koulè-ye te gen ye ti lamezon, ye ti fanm. All black folks had their little house and their little farm. (PC)
See examples
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fèrmé
MO 60, NE, ST
(
v.,
v.tr.,
v.refl.,
v.intr.
)
frémè
NE
frémé
NE
fèrmin
CA, PC
fèrmè
NE, PC
finm
PC
fèm
PC
frinmin
PC
-
To close, shut; fermer.
Kan laplu tonm mo fenm me chasi. When it rains I close my windows. (PC); Tou kichòj-sa-ye fèrmen. All of those places are closed down. (PC) ♦ Rwa-la met li dan lachanm-la e frenmen lapòt. La mo fouti, li di kan lapòt-la frenmen. The king put him in the room and locked the door. ‘Now I’m in trouble,’ he said when the door was closed. (JR) •’frémer à clef’ v.phr. To lock; fermer à clef. ♦ Vié fomme-la commencé héler et li l'olé frémer Jean Sotte a clef dans so la chomme. The old woman started to scream and she wanted to lock Foolish John in his room. (BD)
See examples
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To shut in, lock up; enfermer.
♦ M a frenmen twa dan lachanm-la. I’m going to lock you up in the room. (JR)To coop, lock, oneself up, shut oneself in; s’enfermer. Li fèrmen limèm dan kabann-na. He locked himself into the house. (PC) ♦ Li fermin li méme dans so lachambe. He locked himself in her room. (FO T16) •fèrmen deyòr v.phr. (CA). To lock (oneself) out; fermer la porte à clé (quand il y a qn qui n’est pas rentré). Mo fèrmen mon deyòr jodi. Mo te pa konen rantre. I locked myself out today. I couldn’t get in. (CA)To close in on, surround; encercler, entourer. Sa-fe kon la nwi fèrmè. So when night closed in. (NE) ♦ Ye te tou ape ri apre li. Ye frenmen alantou li. They were all laughing at him. They closed in around him. (JR)
See examples
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fèt
BT
(
adj.
)
-
Eliminated from the game of marbles because a shooting marble remains in the circle; éliminé du jeu de billes parce qu’une bille reste dans le rond.
Si ta kanik arète dan l ron, ye pèle sa fèt . Kan t rantre dan l ron e t e pa sòrti t e fèt, t e mòr. If your marble stops inside the circle, they call that [fèt]. When you’re in the circle and you don’t get out of it you’re [fèt], you’re dead. (BT)
See examples
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fèt
CA, PC
(
n.
)
fét
PC
lafèt
CA, MO 60, ST
-
Birthday; anniversaire (de naissance).
So fet se dan août. Le kenz d aout se so fet. His birthday is in August. The fifteenth of August is his birthday. (PC); Se mo lafèt jodi. Mo fe katre-ven-trwa. It’s my birthday today. I turned 83. (CA) ♦ Ain jour au soir, Cigogne (mo cré c’était so fête) té invité Rénard soupé en tête à tête. One evening, the Stork (I think it was his birthday) invited the Fox over for a tête-à-tête. (T20) 2. Party, celebration; fête, célébration. ♦ Tout moun apé grouillé: milet, choual et charrette, pasqué laroulaison pou neg c’est ain grand fête. Everyone is on the move, mules, horses and wagons, because the sugar cane harvest, for black folks, is a big party. (T27) 3. Holiday; jour de fête, jour férié. Mon te gen kat piti e ye tou nèt marye. Me ye vyen pou le fèt e ye vyen dan lete. I had four kids and they are all married. But they come for the holidays and they come in the summer. (CA) •fet Valantin n.phr. (PC); lafèt Valantin (CA). Valentine’s Day; la Saint Valentin. Sete lafèt Valantin jòdi. Se WESLEY so lafèt osi. It’s Valentine’s Day today. It’s Wesley’s birthday too. (CA) •Fèt de Dye n.phr. (CA). Corpus Christi; la Fête-Dieu. To va lamés pou la Fèt de Dye. You go to mass for Corpus Christi. (CA) ♦ Pou lafyev on frison mase fiè siro on jou Fet de Dje pi bouyi sa don dolo pi bwa ti vè trwa fwa pa jou. For the fever with chills collect elderberry leaves on Corpus Christi and boil them in water and then drink a glass of it three times a day. (LA)
See examples
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fèt-kashé
CA
(
n.
)
-
Hide-and-seek; cache-cache.
No galop. No va kache. Ena dot k ap chèrche pou trouve nouzot. Sa se la fèt-kache. We run. We go to hide. There are others who try to find us. That is hide and seek. (CA)
See examples
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fèv
CA, MO 60
(
n.
)
fév
NE, PC
fev
PC
défèv
CA, PC
défév
PC
déféb
PC
-
Bean, field pea; fève, pisaille.
Moun te pe pa FERTILIZE. Ye se plante bin, defèv-ye, to te ramas defèv-ye e chèche ye e gen ye pou to manje, e pou li plante lannen apre la. People didn’t fertilize. They would plant their beans and their peas, then you would gather your peas and dry them and have them as your food, and to plant them the next year. (PC) •fèv plat n.phr. (CA); fev plat, feuv plat (PC). Butter bean, lima bean; fève plate. Te gen kenn feuv plat , te met dipwòv andan l tchobo l. We had to can butter beans, we always put in some pepper to preserve them. (PC); Fèv plat, to gen pou grennen ye avonn to kwi ye. Butter beans, you’ve got to shell them before you cook them. (CA)
See examples
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fèvriyé
NE, PC
(
n.
)
-
February; février.
♦ Nivelle Lorléans, 10 Févesriez 1875. New Orleans, February 10, 1875. (T40)
See examples
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fé
No sources
(
n.
)
-
Deed, action, exploit; fait, exploit.
♦ Ça fait lé roi Bangon qui té laimin f ait farce tendé parlé tout faits et geste Jean Sotte, alors li voyé chercher li pou amuser tout so camarade. So King Bangon, who liked to play tricks, heard about all the deeds and exploits of Foolish John, so he sent for him to entertain all of his friends. (FO T18)
See examples
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fé
No sources
(
n.
)
-
Fairy; fée.
♦Dan place vié nomme navé ein zoli fée assite dan ein ti cariole tou dorée, ki té atelée avé pizons. On the old man’s farm there was a pretty fairy seated in a gilded carriage hitched up to pigeons. (T8)
See examples
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fé
gen
(
v.,
v.tr.,
v.intr.,
v.refl.
)
fè
MO 60, PC
fèt
PC
fèr
MO 60
-
To do; faire.
Mo t abitchidfime me mo fe pi sa. I used to smoke but I don’t do that anymore. (NE) ♦ Ça mo gin fait pou gin yé encore? What do I have to do to get them back? (BD)
See examples
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To make; faire.
Mo kònè fe en peu INSTANT COFFEE de maten, mo bwa sa. I make a little instant coffee in the morning and I drink that. (PC); Piti-le otour isi lenmen amize nou me ye fe tro dutren. The children around here like to entertain us but they make too much noise. (ST) •fe kòm v.phr. (CA). To act like; se conduire comme, se comporter comme. Arèt sa. T ap fe kòm en enbesil . Stop that. You’re acting like an idiot. (CA) •fèt konmpran v.phr. (PC). To (be able to) understand; (pouvoir) comprendre. Sa enan WRONG ave blan e nwa? Dèpi tan mo viv, sète toujou konm sa, ole bat konm chyen e chat, mo pa fèt konmprann sa enon. What is wrong with whites and blacks? As long as I’ve been alive it’s always been like that, they’ve wanted to fight like cats and dogs. I can’t understand what’s wrong. (PC) •fe li v.phr. (CA; PC). To make it, succeed, get along; se débrouiller, se tirer d’affaire, aller. Ti TENANT-ye astè-la ye pa ka fe li. To bèzòn en bitasyon kòm ye di, pou fe li astè-la. Little landholders can’t make it these days. You need a plantation, as they say, to make it nowadays. (PC); Koman t ap f e li jodi-la? To pi malad? How are you doing today? You aren’t sick anymore? (CA) •fe mèg v.phr. To abstain from meat; faire maigre. ♦ Fé gombo vert, mo vieil; cé jordi vandrédi, no va fé mègue. Make a vegetarian gumbo, old pal. Today is Friday and we will abstain from meat. (T6) •fe ni èn ni de v.phr. To not hesitate; ne pas broncher, ne pas hésiter. ♦ Baleine fait ni eine ni dé, li prend la corde dans so ladjeule et li dit Compair Lapin: Quand mo va tendé tambour ma halé. Whale did not hesitate, he told Brer Rabbit, ‘When I hear the drum I will pull.’ (FO T1); fait ni ein ni dé' (FO T15) •tou fe adj.phr. (CA; PC). Ready-made; tout fait. T a achte lenj-ye tou fe dan boutik . Tou lenj-sa-la mo gen la, mo achte li tou fe. You buy ready-made clothes at the store. All of the clothes that I have, I bought ready-made. (PC); M achte en gato. Li te tou fe e li te bon. I bought a cake. It was ready-made and it was good. (CA)
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To be (of the weather); faire (en parlant du temps qu’il fait).
Ye fe fre. It’s cold out. (CA); En bon vèr dolo fre, se bon kan ye fe cho. A nice glass of cold water is good when it’s hot out. (CA)
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To reach, arrive at (a place); atteindre, arriver à (un endroit).
Men zafè-sa-la janmen fe li Chœmen Nef. But that thing would never make it all the way to New Roads. (PC)
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To cause, make, have (s.o., sth., do sth.), get s.o. to do sth.; faire (faire qch à qn, à qch).
Se kòm en piti, to fe life kekichòj. L a fe li mè li pe e fe li byen, paskè to fè li fè li. It’s like a child, when you make him do something. He’ll do it, but he won’t do it well, because you made him do it. (PC) •Ye té pa konnen parle kreol e sete difisil pou ye fe moun konprann ye. They didn’t speak Creole and it was hard to get people to understand them. (JR) cf. (fe) kwi, (fe monje la) mèrd, (fe) pèr, (fe) chiye, (fe) vwa, (fe) vini.
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To make, cause to be (a certain way); rendre.
Fe li kantan li di, ' wè, aben ALL RIGHT. ‘ To make her happy he said, ‘Well, all right.’ (PC) •Mo quitté li presse en pleurant, pasqué resté té fait moin triste. I left him almost crying, because staying was making me sad. (T37)
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To turn (a certain age); avoir (en parlant de l’âge).
To diz an plu vye pase mwa. M a fe SIXTY-FIVE mwa ki vyen. You’re ten years older than me. I’ll be sixty-five next month. (PC); Life sèz an yèr. She turned sixteen yesterday. (CA): To thrive, grow well; se plaire (en parlant des plantes), venir bien, profiter. Fe li fe. Dòn li fimye. Make it thrive. Give it fertilizer. (PC); Fe ben. To thrive. (PC)To happen; se faire. Nouzòt nou f e pa la mizèr le nwar isi. We don’t make any trouble for black people here. (PC) Conjug: a) fre v.imperf. (PC). Used to have; faisaient. Ka ye vini ye fre tchwe de trwa gro kochon. When they came they would have several big hogs killed. (PC) b) fèzè v.imperf. (PC); fèzye (PC). Did, used to do; faisais (-ait, etc.). To min lòkoupasyon? Mo ne isi, e nou fèzè travay ON THE FARM. You mean my occupation? I was bom here, and we did work on the farm. (PC) c) fèt past part. (NE). Made; fait(e). De gro fwèt fèt avèk lapo bèf. Big whips made with cowhide. (NE) •Si vous té voir pattes là qui déjà faites, cé té frappant avec quene nous Gouvemair. If you had only seen the paws that were already made, (the resemblance) is striking with those of our governor. (T34)
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fé-dodo
NE
(
n.
)
-
Fais-dodo (a ball); fais-dodo (un bal).
Na sa en bal demen a La Pousyèr, nou pèl sa en fe-dodo. There will be a dance tomorrow at La Poussière, we call it a fais-dodo. (NE)
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féb
PC
(
adj.
)
-
Weak; faible.
Enan dan moun-ye, ye fe kafe fo fo fo, lòt moun fe kafe feb. There are some people who make really strong coffee and others who make weak coffee. (PC) •Pa Lapen te en betay ben piti e feb. Brer Rabbit was a very small and weak animal. (JR) •’faib comme ein mouton' adj.phr. Weak as a sheep; faible comme un mouton, cf. mouton
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féblès
CA, PC, ST
(
n.
)
féblés
PC
-
Weakness; faiblesse. (PC)
•Mais mo colère mo caché pou mié caché mo lafaiblesse. But I hid my anger to better hide my weakness. (T38)
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Fainting spell; évanouissement, défaillance.
Li gen en feblès jodi. He had a fainting spell today. (CA) •tonbe an feblès v.phr. To faint; s’évanouir, cf. tonbe
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Fédéro
No sources
(
n.
)
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The Federais; les Fédéraux.
•Cé on 4 jiyet fédéro fé neg lib dan pèhi Martinik. It was a Fourth of July that the Federais freed the blacks in the country of Martinique. (T13)
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fémèl
BT, CA, NE, PC
(
adj.
)
fiméyl
PC
fimél
PC
fèmèl
PC
fimèl
ST
-
Female; femelle.
Femèl zwa. Female goose. (BT); Fimeyl chval . Female horse. (PC); En femèl dezwa e en mal dezwa . A female goose and a male goose. (PC); En mal kana ave en femèl kana . A male duck and a female duck. (PC); Fimèl myoule. Female mule. (ST) ♦ Alors Jean Malin trouvé trois dézef hibou et li porté yé coté Compair Lapin qui fait so grigris avec di lait ein femelle cabri noir. Then Clever John found three owl eggs, and he took them to Brer Rabbit, who made a hex with the milk of a black female goat. (FO T2)
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fémèl
BT, CA, NE, PC
(
n.
)
fiméyl
PC
fimél
PC
fèmèl
PC
-
Female; femelle.
En chval, se leu mal, en juman, se la femèl. A horse is the male, and a mare is the female. (BT); Mo gen en matou. Li toujou ap chèrche pou femèl. I’ve got a tomcat. He’s always looking for females. (CA) ♦ Ça vou di moin su fumel là é so piti té fé moin la peine. What you told me about the mother and her offspring grieves me. (ME)
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féri
CA, PC
(
n.
)
-
Ferry; ferry, traversier bac.
Feri-la travèrs flèv. Li travèrse moun, oto, tou kikchoj. The ferry crosses the river. It took across people, cars, all kinds of things. (CA)
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févi
CA, NE, PC
(
n.
)
-
Okra; gombo (légume). (Hibiscus esculentus).
To koup to fevi. To mèt sa dan chodjèr e de lagrès. You cut up your okra. You put it in a pot with grease. (CA) REM: Speakers at PC disagree about how to say ‘okra.’ One claims it is either ganmbo fevi or just fevi, while another claims it is only fevi. The latter is the term used on CA. •fiè fevi n.phr. Okra flower; fleur de gombo. cf. fiè •gonbo fevi n.phr. Okra, okra gumbo; gombo (légume), ‘gombo’, soupe faite de ce légume, cf. gonbo fevi •pye fevi, n.phr. (CA). Okra plant; plante de gombo.
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févyé
PC
(
n.
)
-
Honey locust, false acacia; faux acacia, févier. (Robina pseudoacacia).
Fevye, st en dibwa, garòfye ki pa gen—enn o de grofye. The honey locust is a tree, a type of carob tree that doesn’t have more than one or two thorns. (PC)
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féy
CA, NE
(
n.
)
léféy
BT, PC
lèféy
PC
lèfèy
PC
fœy
PC, ST
dé fyèy
MO 72
défèy (pl.)
MO 60
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Leaf; feuille.
Va paye lefey deyòr to tou ratonne. Go scatter the leaves outside that you’ve raked up. (PC); Narb li ki li fe sa rèste vèr tou livèr. Tou lez ot tòrnen jan e maron. Yefey tonbe. The tree that did that for him stayed green all winter. All the others turned yellow and brown, and their leaves fell off. (CA); Bokou de fyèy. A lot of leaves. (MO 72) ♦ To fe en di te avek de fey en piti narb ye pel le hou. You make a tea with the leaves of a little tree they call holly. (BI) •fey lorye n.phr. (PC). Bay leaf; feuille de laurier. Mo sèrv lefey lorye dan mo gòmbo. I use bay leaves in my gumbo. (PC)
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Sheet (of metal or tin); feuille, tôle, plaque (de métal, d’étain).
Ye sèrvi en fey zenk pou kouvèr lamezon. They used a sheet of tin to cover the house. (CA)
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féyaj
CA
(
n.
)
-
Foliage; feuillage.
Ti kas le feyaj-la dan mwa d septanm. a la ti moul sa. You break the leaves off in the month of September and then you grind them. (CA)
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féyé
PC
(
n.
)
-
Lungs and inedible parts of crab; poumons et parties immangeables du crabe.
Le feye dœ le krab tu ot sa. Tu ot ye dan lekòch, la tu ot le feye cha kote. The crab’s lungs, you remove. First you remove the scales and then you remove the lungs on either side. (PC)
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fézon
No sources
(
n.
)
-
Pheasant; faisan.
♦ Don so lachas, li te tchwe en fezon. While he was hunting, he killed a pheasant. (DU)
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fòk
PC
(
n.
)
-
Pitchfork; fourche.
No popa te fe no fòk ave de baton. Our father made us pitchforks with sticks. (PC)
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fòr
CA, MO 60, NE, PC
(
adj.,
adv.
)
fò
CA, MO 60, NE
-
Strong; fort.
Nou te gen en larògon yè, e divan-la te fo. We had a hurricane yesterday, and the wind was strong. (PC); Ye sre bave en ta, galope kom en ptit fort fyèv. They were drooling a lot and running something like a strong little fever. (BT); Mari tè fòr andan la mazi. Marie [Laveau] was an expert in magic. (MO 60); Bòraks se pou nètwaye. Mo sèr pa li parskè li tro fòr. Borax is for cleaning. I don’t use it because it’s too strong. (CA) ♦ Piti dergné li pa boucou for, li vini lasse tousouite, et li tombé bap! The last little one is not very strong, he got tired right away and he fell, bam! (T6)
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Strong (of tea or coffee), heavy (of dew); fort.
Li lèm sa tro fo. Li lèm kafe si fo uchka ka li fini bwa kafe dan so tas, l e detenn so tas. He likes (his coffee) too strong. He likes it so strong that when he’s finished drinking it, it stains his cup. (PC); Ye se di laroze-la fo bomèten. They would say ‘The dew is heavy this morning.’ (PC)Loudly (of voice), strongly, hard, fast (of heart beating); fort (en parlant d’une voix, du battement d’un coeur). Mo parle si fo e li i di mon, tanpri pa kite so madam tànde. I was speaking so loudly and he said to me to please not let his wife hear. (PC) ♦ Lors li dit fill la: -Fille la descende et so caire té apé batte fort. The girl came down and her heart was beating strongly. (FO T19)
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fòr
BT
(
n.
)
-
Roost, building where chickens sleep; perchoir, bâtiment où les poules dorment.
En fòr se konm sa no pèl sa. Se pour ye kouche l swar, e l poulaye se pou le poul ponn. We call that a roost, that is for them to sleep in at night, and the henhouse is for them to lay eggs. (BT)
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fòrdòsh
CA, PC
(
n.
)
-
Brushwood, pile of limbs and trees; broussailles, tas de branches et d’arbres.
Enave en ta fòrdòch-la. Mo te pa konen ramase li tou. There was a lot of brushwood there. I couldn’t pick it all up. (CA)
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Trash; ordures. (PC)
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fòrj
No sources
(
n.
)
fòj
BT
-
Iron-works, blacksmith’s shop; forge.
Ote l sòk, menne a la fòj. Remove the plowshare, take it to the ironworks. (BT) ♦ [Pou] lèrb a lapis, si to gen zèrb a la pis to gen ke pou lave twa avek dolo la fòrj. If you have poison ivy all you have to do is wash yourself with water from a blacksmith’s shop (in which tools were washed). (BI)
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fòrjé
CA
(
v.tr.
)
-
To forge, hammer; forger, marteler.
♦ Pa gagnin ain forgeron dan tou la ville ki capab forgé ain fer à choil pli vite pacé moin. There is not a blacksmith in the whole city who can forge a horseshoe quicker than I can. (ME)
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To forge, fake; forger.
Se pa lor. Se fòrje. It’s not gold. It’s fake. (CA)
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To mess up, ruin, botch; bousiller, gâcher.
Pou fe to gato si to pa mèt is andan li, to fòrje li. Li p ap ale leve. Li pa bon. To make your cake if you don’t put baking powder you’ve messed it up. It won’t rise. It’s not good. (CA)
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fòrjœron
PC
(
n.
)
fòjeron
BT
-
Blacksmith; forgeron.
Fòjeuron fe li BRAND NEW ankòr, aranje ankòr. The blacksmith will make it brand new again, he’ll repair it. (BT) ♦ Pa gagnin ain forgeron dan tou la ville ki capab forgé ain fer à choil pli vite pacé moin. There is not a blacksmith in the whole city who can forge a horseshoe quicker than I can. (ME)
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fòrmin
MO 60
(
v.tr.
)
-
To form; former.
Ye fòrmen la lwa. They drew up the law. (MO 60)
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fòrmon
CA
(
n.
)
-
Rectum; rectum.
Kan ye te ansevli twa, ye te vide to letrip. Ye te bouche to fòrmon avèk lasann. When they prepared you for burial, they would empty your bowels. They would stuff your rectum with ashes. (CA)
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fòrs
MO 60
(
n.
)
lafòrs
CA, PC
lafòs
PC
-
Strength, might; force.
Lalve-la kase boug. Larivyè, la flev-la si tèlman gen dolo, lafòrs dolo-la nwaye tou. The levee broke, man. The river has so much water, the force of the water flooded everything. (PC); Lafòrs divan kase mo lafinèt. The force of the wind broke my window. (CA) ♦ Li samblé tou lafoce et li cogné so latête com ein lamasse. He gathered up all his strength and he struck with his head like a sledgehammer. (T2) •pa konnen (so) lafòs v.phr. (PC). Not to know one’s own strength; ne pas connaître sa force. Li travay, li te travay, li te pa konnen so lafòs. He worked, he worked, he didn’t know his own strength. (PC) •tou (so) lafòrs adv.phr. (CA). With all one's might; de toute sa force. Li leve sa e tou so lafòrs. He lifted it with all his might. (CA) ♦ Rete en ti manman! li kriye tou so lafòs. ‘Stop for a moment! ‘ he shouted with all his strength. (JR) •dè fòrs adv.phr. (MO 60). By force; de force. Yè komanse pron lezarm dè fòrs. They began to take their arms away from them by force. (MO 60) •a fòrs conj. (BT; CA; NE); a fòs, an fòs (PC). So much that, because; tant, tellement, parce que. Ye te kouri asi pour garde konmon mo t ape danse la vals, a fòrs mo t ape danse li byen. They all went to sit down to watch how I danced the waltz, since I was dancing it so well. (BT); Li te p ape garde ke kote li t ale, afors li t ape donse. He wasn’t watching where he was going, because he was dancing so hard. (NE); Li gen pou koupe so chve-ye prop a fòrs se krote. He’s got to shave his hair because it’s kinky. (CA) ♦ Eine fois, bonne fois, yé té gain ein 'tit bougue à force li té béte yé té pélé li Jean Sotte. Once upon a time there was a little boy who was so stupid that they called him Foolish John. (BD)
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fòrsa
No sources
(
n.
)
-
Convict; forçat.
♦ Mais moune té pas l'ainmain ça a cause de so caractère. Yé poignin li, et com forçat, yé pende li sur ein verbère. But people didn’t like that, because of his character. They took him, and like a convict, they hanged him from a streetlight. (T37)
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