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

• kayé CA, ST ( n. )
  1. Clabber, curdled milk; caillé.
     Pou fe du kaye, to egri dile. To make clabber, you curdle milk. (CA) See examples
  2. Cottage cheese; fromage blanc.
     Lès dule hegri pou fe du kaye. Let milk sour to make cottage cheese. (ST) See examples
• kayé No sources ( n. )
  1. Notebook; cahier.
     Le choz te bomache, mo achte de kaye, de kreyon, de kreyon a lank, de papye e de sizo. Things were cheap. I bought some notebooks, some pencils, some inkpens, some paper and some scissors. (HW) See examples
• kayé CA, PC ( v., v.intr., v.tr. )
  1. To curdle; se cailler.
     Ye se pran defwa kaye-sa-lœ te gen dolo. Ye se kònen fè en kaye-egoute. Sometimes they took curdled milk and water. They would make cottage cheese from it. (PC); Mo mèt dile kaye dan mo bren pou fe CREAM CHEESE. I put curdled milk in my cheese-cloth to make cream cheese. (CA)To let spoil; laisser tourner. ♦ [Pou] mòrdir sèrpon, pronn blon en deze, kaye li, e met gonmbo file on don la. For a snakebite, take an eggwhite, let it spoil, and put sassafras powder on it. (BI) See examples
• kayé-égouté PC ( n. ) kayé PC
  1. Cottage cheese; fromage blanc.
     Ye se kònenfè en kaye-egoute. They would make cottage cheese from it. (PC) See examples
  2. Cream cheese; fromage blanc caillé. (PC)
• kaz No sources ( n. ) lakaz PC
  1. Out-building; dépendance.
     Ye gen en gro lakaz dèriyè la to ka mèt sa la. There’s a big out building in back, you can put it there. (PC) See examples
• kazyé PC ( n. ) kash-zyé PC kad-zyé PC
  1. Blinder; oeillère.
     Mete en kazye, sa bouche so zye li pa ka wa twa dèryè, on bridon-la. Put a blinder on his bridle, that blocks his eyes, he can’t see you behind him. (PC) See examples
• ke No sources ( n. ) laché NE, PC lache NE, PC che BT, PC ché PC lachè PC laké CA, PC lake CA
  1. Tail; queue.
     Vou TRIM lake en mile HALF E chval-la vou TRIM pa so lake ditou. A mule’s tail you trim in half. You don’t trim a horse’s tail at all. (PC); Mo frèr gen en lakeu de en lapen e li di man: Tchanbon sa parskeu sa dòn to bon lachanch. My brother has a rabbit’s tail and he told me: Hold on to this because it brings you good luck. (CA) ♦ Latcheu Caïman té si long. Alligator’s tail was so long. (T40) • keu chmiz n.phr. latche chmiz, latcheu chmiz (NE); lakeu chmij (BT); tche chimij (CA). Shirttail; pan de chemise. Li t ape donse tèlmon ke so latcheu chmiz t ape sòrti ondeor de so kilòt. He was dancing so much that his shirttail was coming out of his pants. (NE) ; Ye te vini laba-la jwe laplòt dan le savonn-l; lakeu chmij e tape voltije dan lèr. They came to play ball down there in the meadow; their shirt tails were flying in the wind. (BT) See examples
  2. Top, greens (of onion, etc.); queue, fane (d’oignon).
     Latche zonyon. (PC); Lakeu d zongnon. (PC) See examples
  3. Handle (of a pan); manche (d’un poêle).
     Li gen en gro latcheu. [The pan] has a big handle. (PC) See examples
  4. Foot of a bed; pied du lit.
     Lòt bout-la se en latchè-la. The other end of the bed is called a ‘foot’. (PC) See examples
  5. Penis; pénis.
     PENIS ye pèl sa latcheu d la nonm. The penis they call the man’s [tcheu]. (BT) ♦ ’la ché [lache]' (BI) See examples
• ke-cha* No sources ( n. ) laché-sha PC laké-shat PC laché-shat CA, PC
  1. Cattail, reed-mace; massette, quenouille. (Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia L.).
  2. Shingles; zona.
     Li so-tchèn sete dan so kou . De fwa se annantour WAIST, latche-chat. Se tou de bouton. His was on his neck. Sometimes you get it around your waist. Shingles makes little bumps. (PC) ♦ Pou latche d chat met di sel don lalimonnad e pi koup latche en chat pou fe li senyen e pi met di son chat-la on don lalimonad. For shingles, put some salt in lemonade, and then cut the tail off a cat and put some drops of its blood in the lemonade. [ ‘la tché chatte ‘] (LA) See examples
• ke-d-ra* No sources ( n. ) ché-d-ra CA
  1. Cattail, reed-mace; massette, quenouille. (Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia L.).
     Tche-d-ra se en zafèr j on ke pous dan kanal-la. Cattail is a yellow thing that grows in the canal. (CA) ♦ [Pou] tatanòs, to pronn de ked ra e to melonj li avek di taba nwar. To fròt sa byen si monm-la ki malad. For tetanus, you take some cat-tail and mix it well with black tobacco. You rub it on the sick body part. (BI) See examples
• ki No sources ( det. )
  1. Which, what; quel(le)(s). cf. kèl
• ki NE, ST ( pron. ) ki-sé CA, NE, PC ki-sé-sa CA, NE, ST, PC ki-ki NE ki-ké NE sa NE sa-ki NE sa-ké NE
  1. interr. Who, whom; qui.
     Ki (ki-se, ki-se-sa, ki-ki) to wa yèr? Who did you see yesterday? (NE); Ki ke sa-la ? Who is it? (PC) ♦ Aie, dit lé roi, mais pou qui to prend moin, Jean Sotte? Oh,’ said the king, ‘who do you take me for, Foolish John?’ (FO T18) •ki moun adv.phr. (CA; PC; ST). Who, whom; qui. Mo pa kònè ki moun li te, li te gen en mas an so figi. I couldn’t tell who she was, she had a mask on. (PC); Ki moun ki di twa sa ? Who told you that? (CA) ♦ Yé té conain qui moun qui té cognain. They knew who had struck. (T25) See examples
  2. interr. What; qu’est-ce que/qui, quoi.
     Li monde li ki-se-sa li t ape parle pou. He asked him what he was talking about. (NE); Ye te mèt le zonyon la epi ki? They put onions in it and what else? (NE) ♦ Oui, mo connin to pas l'aimin mo l'amouré, cofaire? Qui ça li fait toi? Yes, I know you don’t like my boyfriend, why? What did he do to you? (FO T2) •ki se sa? exp. (CA; PC; NE; ST); Ki se? Ki sa? (NE); Ke sa? Ki e sa? (PC). 1) What is that? Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça? Mo kone sa ki monk Bouki. Li di: Ki-se? ‘I know what Bouki is missing,’ he said. ‘What’s that?’ (NE); Mo tannde en seray, mè mo pa ka wa ki-se-sa. I heard a noise, but I can’t tell what it was. (PC) ♦ «Hey, ga, qui ça ça yé? to cou corché. ‘‘ ‘Hey, look, what is that? Your neck is scratched.’ (T22) 2) Who is that? Qui est-ce? (CA; ST) See examples
  3. relsubj. ti (PC). Who, which, that; qui.
     Mo gen le piti ki parl kreòl. In my class I have kids who speak Creole. (NE); Fanm-la ap bat so zye-ye kòm keken ki fòl. That woman is batting her eyes like a crazy person. (CA); Ye te gen en bann de dego ki te kònè rèste anlòtour isit. There were a bunch of Italians living around here. (PC) ♦ Ce mouen ki trivé yé, yé té doi tou pou mouen. I’m the one who found them, they should have all been mine. (T4) See examples
  4. rel.obj. That; que. cf. ke •ou ki adv.interr. [Used in tag questions/ echo questions]. Or what; ou quoi?
     Kan li tourn, i sa sou ou ki? When he comes back, will he be drunk, or what? (PC) See examples
• kidni PC ( n. )
  1. Kidney; rein.
     Ye ote enn andan mo kidni ye. They removed one of my kidneys. (PC) See examples
• kikiribou No sources ( adj. )
  1. Dead; mort.
     ♦ Li quiquiribou. He is dead. (FO 1887) See examples
• kiklit No sources ( n. ) titlit PC, PC, CA kliklik PC, PC, CA
  1. Sparrow hawk; épervier. (Falco sparverius sparverius).
• kilbité CA, ST ( v., v.tr., v.intr. )
  1. To knock over; culbuter, renverser.
     Le lanm dolo te si ho, ye kilbite ye pirog. The waves were so high they knocked over their pirogue. (CA) ♦ Li quilbité la table, cassé la vaisselle avec gobelets et bouteilles. He knocked over the table and broke the dishes, glasses and bottles. (FO T2)To keel over, topple over, fall over; culbuter. M ape ale mol mo dibwa. To gen pou mol li avèk latèr pou pa li kilbite . I’m banking up my tree. You have to bank it up with dirt so it doesn’t keel over. (CA); Mo kilbite anba lèskalye e mo f e mo lahanch mal. I fall down the stairs and I hurt my hip. (ST) See examples
• kilot BT, ST ( n. ) kilot CA
  1. Pants, trousers; pantalon.
     Mon lenm fe le rob e le blaoz plus ka le kilot. I prefer to make dresses and blouses rather than pants. (BT); Mo kilot ap frote apre mo janm. My pants are rubbing against my legs. (CA) REM: NE (1985: 114) notes that kilot refers to everyday pants and patalon to dressier pants.. ♦ Chapeauf quilottes, linettes, n'habit michié la, tout so butin tombe par terre, et l'amouré la tournin taureau dans la salle a manger. The hat, pants, glasses, the man’s suit, all of his things fell to the ground, and the boyfriend turned into a bull in the dining room. (FO T2) •kilot kòt n.phr. (CA). Shorts; short. See examples
• kininn No sources ( n. ) lakini PC lakininn PC lakiniy PC
  1. Quinine; quinine.
     Lakini men li bon pou bwa. Quinine is good to drink. (PC) ♦ Met en pe di te labsent dou. La vou met de dòz kinin ondon-la. Put in a little sweet absinth tea. Then you put some quinine on it. [‘ quinine ’] (BI) See examples
• kinp CA ( n. )
  1. Camp (temporary residence used during hunting or fishing season); camp (résidence temporaire utilisée pendant la saison de chasse ou de pêche).
     Mo ale pase lànwit dan mo kenp-la. I’m going to spend the night at my camp. (CA) ♦ Mo bliye mo lapip kote mo kenp. I forgot my pipe at my camp. (JR) See examples
• kint No sources ( n. )
  1. Coughing fit; quinte de toux.
     ♦ [Pou] koklich, en morso lendyenn jonn tronpe don vineg e mare don kou en nonfon va onpeche de kent. For whooping cough, a piece of yellow calico soaked in vinegar and tied around the child’s neck will prevent coughing fits. (BI) See examples
• kinto PC ( n. )
  1. Stack; tas, pile.
     To ramase li e mare l par pake voye li, met li an kento, en milon. You gather it up, tie it in packets, and throw it on the haystack. (PC) See examples
• kinz CA, NE, PC, ST ( num.card. )
  1. Fifteen; quinze.
     Li te ne mwa d aout le kenz . He was born on the fifteenth of August. (PC) ♦ Li compté yé et jiste trouvé quinze. He counted them and only found fifteen. (FO T17) See examples
• kir-dimyèl No sources ( n. )
  1. Honeycomb; rayon de miel.
     ♦ [Pou] mal de gòrj, respire laboukonn lakir di myèl. For a sore throat, breathe in the smoke of a [burning] honeycomb. (BI) See examples
• kiraj CA ( n. )
  1. Smartweed, water pepper; curage. (Polygonium spp.).
     ♦ Kon en bebe paralize e li pa kapab marche, to bouy en ta kiraj don dolo e to beny ti bebe-la onndon sa. When a baby is paralyzed and it can’t walk, boil a lot of smartweed in water and bathe the baby in that. (BI) •dolo kiraj n.phr. (CA). Mixture of water and smartweed; mélange d’eau et de curage. Dòn ye en ben dan dolo kiraj. Give them a bath in smartweed water. (CA) See examples
• kiryé No sources ( adj. ) kiriyé CA, ST
  1. Curious; curieux.
     ♦ Alè lòg ye te kirye pou konnen si bef-ye se parle. The log hauler was curious to know if the oxen would speak. (JR) See examples
• kit No sources ( adj. )
  1. Even, squared away; quitte.
     ♦ Asteur nou kitte; mo pu gagnin arien pou fé dan maison cilala. Now we are squared away; I have nothing more to do in this house. (ME 91) •’tchonbo kit’ v.phr. To acquit; acquitter. ♦ Can lé roi tendé ça, li di: «Cé bon, mo contan vouzote di moin ça. To capab couri toi avé compair Lapin, mo tchombo li quitte.’’ When the king heard that, he said: «That is all right; I am glad you told me so. You can go with Brer Rabbit, I acquit him.» (FO 1887) See examples
• kit-nwayo No sources ( adj. )
  1. Freestone (of peaches); (pêche) dont la chair n’adhère pas au noyau, cf. pèch
• kité CA, PC, ST ( v., v.mod., v.tr., v.intr. ) kitè PC
  1. To let, allow; laisser, permettre.
     Si moun-ye te fe bal, e mam te pa kite nouzòt kouri, Mam di ouzò pa ka kou bal tou le sanmdi swa. If people were holding a dance and Mom wouldn’t let us go, she’d say ‘You can’t go to a dance every Saturday night.’ (PC) ♦ Tendé di vent, ma chère, mais c’est pas zouragan: Quite li souflé, pas per, c’est bon di vent printemps. Listen to the wind, my darling, it’s not a hurricane; let it blow, it’s just a good spring wind. (T27)To leave; quitter. Nou kite manje-la an latab. We left the food on the table. (PC); Mo p ole kite mo mari. I don’t want to leave my husband. (CA); Avan Mari kite lamezon li garde li-mèm dan mirwar pou fe sur li te joli. Before Mary left the house she looked at herself in the mirror to make sure she was pretty. (ST) ♦ Bouki quitté so charrette là, et parti cherché premié lapin que li té ouâ. Bouki left his cart there, and went off to get the first rabbit he saw. (T9)1. To stop, quit; arrêter. Li bwa pa. Li te konnen bwa labyè, men li jus kitè . He doesn’t drink. He used to drink beer, but he just quit. (PC) ♦ Ma sré quitté lontan, mè mo soeur di moin com ça: «Prin garde to dégrouyé dan place là! « I would have quit a long time ago, but my sister told me, «Make sure you don’t leave that place!» 2. To leave, go away; partir, s’en aller. Mo sè ich kite, li te pa ka reste paskè so mari malad. My sister just left, she couldn’t stay because her husband is sick. (PC) ♦A ben, Bouki di kan sete tan pou kite, n’a kouri bwa nou diven astè. ‘Well,’ Bouki said when it was time to leave, ‘we’ll go drink our wine now.’ (JR) See examples
• kivèt CA ( n. ) kivét PC
  1. Washbowl, washbasin; cuvette, lavabo.
     Ye te lave ye lamen andan kivèt. They washed their hands in the washbasin. (CA) •po kivyèt n.phr. Washbowl, washbasin, pitcher; cuvette, lavabo, pichet, cf. po kiyèr n. (CA; NE; PC; ST); kiyè (PC). Spoon; cuiller. En garmonje s p met ta laveseyl, to fourchet e to kiyè-ye, to vèr, sa to bwa andon. A china cabinet is for storing your dishes. Your forks and your spoons, your glasses, what you drink out of. (PC); Sete si bon li liché so kiyèr. It was so good he licked his spoon. (CA) ♦ Donn en ti ben di ji-la donn en kiyè trwa jwa pa jou. Give [the sick person] a spoonful three times a day. [‘cuiller’] (LA) •’cuiller à raté’ n.phr. Teaspoon; cuiller à thé. ♦7ï kiyè a raté trwa jwa pa jou. A teaspoon three times a day. (LA) •gro kiyèr n.phr. (ST); gro kiyè (CA). Tablespoon; cuiller à soupe, •kiyèr disik n.phr. (ST); kiyè disik (PC). Sugar spoon; cuiller à sucre. To ka mèt sa tan to gen en rim, ONE DROP on en ti kiyè disik. You can put that (i.e. turpentine) in when you have a cold, one drop on a little sugar spoon. (PC) •ti kiyèr n.phr. (ST); ti kiyè (PC). 1) Teaspoon; cuiller à thé. (PC) 2) Teaspoonful; cuillerée. Mo m me ti bren kafe avek en annan de ti kiyè disik. I put a little coffee with one or two teaspoonfuls of sugar. (PC) See examples
• kiyéré No sources ( n. ) kiriyé ST kilirié CA kiliriyé CA
  1. Spoonful; cuillerée.
     Mam te dòn mwa en kiliriye lanizèt. Mom would give me a spoonful of anisette. (CA) ♦ Bwa de kiyere kat fwa von to kouche. Drink four spoonfuls of that before you go to bed. (BD) See examples
• kizinyèr No sources ( n. )
  1. Cook (f.); cuisinière.
     ♦ Eune jou kisinière la dit, li vé pas fait dinin. One day the cook said that she didn’t want to make dinner. (T29) See examples
• klak No sources ( n. )
  1. Hit, blow, slap; gifle, coup, claque.
     ♦ Bête la fou li ain clac ... Et, dans yé ti lamain, chacaine té donné ain clac. The animal struck him... and in their little hands, each one gave a clap. (T25) See examples
• klaké NE ( v.intr. )
  1. To break out; éclater.
     Kon BUTTERFLY vini bèk, sa klake èn jile. When the butterfly came back, a frost broke out. (NE) See examples
• klarisyé CA ( v.tr. )
  1. To scrape, thin out (cotton, corn); éclaircir (le coton, le maïs).
     Pito lèse le tra pye d mayi sa klarisye en kare d mayi. Sa fe plis epi d mayi. Instead of leaving three stalks of corn, they thinned out the corn field. That made more ears of corn. (CA) See examples
• klians CA ( n. )
  1. Client, customer; client.
     Se en pratik lavoka la-ba-la e isi se en pratik medsen. Ye gen plen klians. It’a a law practice over there and this is a medical practice. They’ve got lots of clients. (CA) See examples
• klo CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Field; champ.
     Sa fe sète nouzòt piti ki te gen ede li andan Mo. So it was we kids who had to help him in the fields. (PC); L ap mèt ye difwon an bal dan klo-la. They’re putting their hay into bales in the field. (CA) ♦ Dé compair yé té apé travaille dans clos ensembe. The two friends were working in the field together. (FO T13) •gonbo klo n.phr. Okra; gombo (légume), cf. gonbo •klo dikann n.phr. (NE). Sugar cane field; champ de canne à sucre. See examples
• klou CA, PC ( n. ) déklou gen lé klou NE
  1. Nail; clou.
     En marto sa se pour tache avèk de klou . Mo beuzwenn deklou osi pour ranje lachèj. A hammer is what you need to drive in a nail. I also need nails to fix the chair. (BT); Si to klou kroch, to gen pou done li en kou-d-marto pou drwati li. If your nail is crooked, you’ve got to hit it with the hammer to straighten it. (CA) ♦ Mo l'oncle couri cherché un casse-tête et des clous , et avec ein morceau la planche li bouché trou là. My uncle went to get a hammer and some nails, and with a piece of wood he plugged the hole. (T40) •klou kare n.phr. (PC). Square nail; clou carré. See examples
  2. Nail, tine (part of a harrow); dent (d’une herse, etc.).
     Chwini gen plis dan ke laès, en chwini avek en kultivatè, ye tou diferan. En laès se sa-la ki gen gro deklou. A small harrow has more teeth than a harrow. A small harrow and a cultivator, they’re really different. A harrow is the one that has big tines. (PC) See examples
  3. Catch; prise.
     Ye gen en SLING, lachenn. To gen en lod, to sère l li gen en pouli . E ka l amènè li aou li gen jète li, ye gen en deklou ye jus fou l anndan la, li lache li, lache dekann-ye . They have a sling, a chain. You’ve got a load [of sugar cane], you tighten it with pulleys. And when they’ve got it where they will dump it, there’s a catch, you just push it and it releases the cane. (PC) See examples
  4. Boil; furoncle, clou.
     Kon en piti te gen en deklou, ye te pran en flè on en gòmbo. E fe en katapla, mèt sa on la. Landmen li se pare pou ouvri. When a child had a boil, they would take an okra flower and make a poultice with it. The next day it would be ready to open. (BT); Deklou-ye abouti . Boils come to a head. (CA) See examples
• klouk CA ( n. )
  1. Penis; pénis.
• klouwé ST ( v.tr. ) koulyé CA klouyé CA koulwé PC, ST klouwè PC klou PC
  1. To nail; clouer.
     Vou me vou lat primyèr. La to klou ta kouvèrtu dèsu. You put your laths down first, and then you nail your roof shingles to that. (PC) ♦ Li met sèrkey-la dan lafòs-la e klouwe so kouvè. Mè li klouwe so kapo ousi. He put the coffin in the grave and nailed its lid shut. But he nailed his coat as well. (JR) See examples
• klènnin PC ( n. )
  1. Brooder, incubator; couveuse artificielle.
• klèr CA, NE, ST ( adj., adv. ) klè CA, PC
  1. Clear (of skies, liquid, etc.); clair (en parlant du ciel, d’une liquide, etc.).
     Se pa tro Mè . The skies aren’t too clear. (PC); E gonbo se klèr kòm en lasoup. A gumbo is as light-colored as a soup. (NE) See examples
  2. Clear, clarified (of cane syrup, etc.); clarifié.
     Sa ki asè klè, aben li lès li kouri dòt-chò. (The juice) which is clarified enough, he lets it run elsewhere. (PC) See examples
  3. Light-colored; de teint clair.
     Mo trouv pa sa isi MUCH, moun klè... To pròch pa ka fe ladiferans FROM blan. You don’t find that here much, light-skinned (African-American) people...You almost can’t tell them apart from white people. (PC); Li te pa klè. Li te en ti negriyon. He wasn’t light-skinned. He was a little black boy. (CA) •milat klè n.phr. Light-skinned mulatto; mulâtre au teint clair. cf. mulat See examples
  4. Light, bright (of the sky); clair (en parlant du ciel).
     ♦ Si li fait noi', si li fait clai', si li fait frette, si li fait chaud, faut pas plérer, faut pas to pé. If it is dark, if it is light, if it is cold, if it is hot, you must not cry, you must not fear. (B D)Clearly; clairement. Li pa wa klè . He doesn’t see clearly. (PC) ♦ So zié té fé li mal; li té gagnin pou frotté yé pou oua clair. His eyes hurt; he had to rub them to see straight. (T29) See examples
• klèr PC ( n. )
  1. Purified sugar cane syrup; sirop de canne purifié.
     Li lach klè-la li voy li kote DOUBLE EFFECT. He sends the clear (sugar cane) syrup to the double effect boiler. (PC) See examples
• klèr No sources ( n., adv.phr. ) ’au clair dé liné' No sources
  1. In the moonlight; au clair de lune.
     ♦ C'était toujou les soirs mo té volé des prines. Yé té toujou semblé meyer au clair dé line. It was always in the evening that I stole prunes, they always looked better in the moonlight. (T27) See examples
• klèrinét PC ( n. ) klarunèt PC
  1. Clarinet; clarinette.
     Ye te konnen jouwe ye-tchenn muzik, jwe le viyelon, te gen ye kòrdinet, klèrinet, tanmbou, kòrdeyon. They used to play their own music, they played the violin, they had trumpets, clarinets, drums, accordeons. (PC) See examples
• klèrmon NE, ST ( adv. )
  1. Clearly; clairement.
• klèrsi CA, PC, ST ( v., v.intr., v.tr. ) klèsi PC
  1. To clarify (of juice); s’éclaircir, se clarifier (en parlant de jus).
     Ka li klèrsi... When the juice has clarified... (PC) See examples
  2. To clear up (of the weather); s’éclaircir.
     Tan-la ape Mèrsi. The weather is clearing. (CA) ♦ ‘clèci’ (PE)To scrape, thin out (cotton, com); éclaircir (le coton, le maïs). Kan to plant koton to plann lagrenn-ye tou dilon. La kon ye lev ye lev epe. La, ifo skrep, la kan to skrep te e Mèsi li. When you plant cotton you plant it all along. Then when it grows, it grows in thick, and you scrape it to thin it out. (PC) See examples
• klèrté NE ( n. ) Marté PC laklèrté CA
  1. Something obvious; une chose évidente.
     E kon mo vini kone, se te èn klèrte. And when I came to know that, it was obvious. (NE) See examples
  2. Light; clarté, lumière.
     Mo te e wa en Marte. I saw a light. (PC); Lalenp-la fe bon laklèrte. The lamp makes a lot of light. (CA) See examples
• klé PC ( n. ) laklé CA, PC, ST
  1. Key; clé.
     Lapriyè se lakle-la. Prayer is the key. (PC); Mo pa konen trouve mo lakle e mo pa kapab rantre. I can’t find my key and I can’t get in. (CA) ♦ M a donne vou laclé mo gran lécurie. I’ll give you the key to my big stable. (T6) See examples
  2. Wrench; clé.
     Kle d charu. Plough wrench. (PC) See examples
• kléré CA, PC ( v.intr. )
  1. To shine; briller.
     Lalin-le e klere. The moon is shining. (PC); Mirwa deyò ape klere drwat dan mo zye. The mirror outside is shining right in my eyes. (CA) ♦ Nita c'est ein ti zozo Nafrique qui chanté la nuite quand la lune apé clairé. Nita is a small bird from Africa who sings at night when the moon is bright. (FO T20) See examples
  2. To look at; regarder.
     ♦ So jié té apé cléré on ein gro popa carancro li té jouké on ein vié dibois sec. His eyes were looking at a big old buzzard perched on a dry old tree. (T6) See examples
• klòb PC ( n. )
  1. Club, nightclub; club, boîte de nuit.
     Si ti te kouri dan le Mòb ton non te pa konte. If you went to clubs you had a bad reputation (lit. your name would not count). (PC); Mo nonmen li pou èt prezidan no klòb. I nominated him to be president of our club. (CA) See examples
• klòsh No sources ( n. ) lakròsh PC laklòsh CA, PC, ST
  1. Bell; cloche.
     Ye te gen en lakròch deyò-la, li se vini vandrèdi, sanmdi maten, ‘Penng! Penng! Penng! Penngf ' li se sònen laklòch-la. They had a bell outside, and when Friday or Saturday morning came around, ting! ting! ting! ting! They would ring the bell. (PC); Ye sònen laklòch pou lekol komanse. They rang the bell for school to begin. (ST) ♦ Li dit yé té gain pou' 'tacher ein 'tit lacloche 'tou' cou chatte-la. He said they’d have to fasten a little bell around the cat’s neck. (BD) See examples
  2. Blister; ampoule, cloque.
     Mo gen enn gros klòch an mo pye. I have a big blister on my foot. (PC) ♦ Enn fwa li onpoule to pronn de sizo e to koupe le klòch pou retire dolo-la. Once it has formed a blister you take scissors and cut the blister to let the water out. (BI) See examples