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

• panm BT ( int. )
  1. Bang, pow! Pan!
     Pèrdri laba. Tu va ale la l, fout en kou d pye; pèrdir va lève, ‘panm panm! ‘The partridge is over there. You go over and kick it, the partridge takes flight, bang! bang! (BT) ♦ Li lévé so lamain drète et li voyé on li: -Pam! Hé! lamain là resté collé! He lifted his right hand and struck her, wham! But his hand remained stuck in place! (T2) See examples
• panm No sources ( n. )
  1. Palm; palmier, •panm beni
     n.phr. Blessed palm branch (generally a magnolia branch in Louisiana); rameau béni (généralement du magnolia en Louisiane). Panm beni; mèt sa dan lamezon. E kan se move tan, priy e en ti morso panm pou pèche tonnèr e zeklèr. A blessed palm. You put that in the house, and when the weather is bad, you pray with a pièce of palm to prevent thunder and lightning. (BT) See examples
• pans No sources ( n. ) lapans PC, ST pons PC lapons BT, CA
  1. Stomach; panse.
     No fe en lasalad lapons ou no mèt sa andan gonbo. We make a salad with pig’s stomach or we put it in gumbo. (CA) ♦ Pou en monm paralize, to pronn en lapons bet, to ouv li e to me monm-la don li. For a paralyzed limb, you take an animal stomach, cut it open and put the paralyzed member in it. (BI) See examples
  2. Stuffed hog’s stomach; estomac de porc farci.
     So lapans boure bon. Her stuffed hog’s stomach is good. (ST) See examples
• panshé CA, PC ( v., v.intr., v.tr. ) ponshé CA, PC
  1. To lean; se pencher.
     Li panche. He leaned [on the cane]. (PC); Mo te panche kont labaryèr e mo wa kan li pase. I was leaning against the fence and I saw when he went by. (CA) ♦ Ein pigeon tapé boi dans ein ‘tit coulée, ein froumi qui té penché tommebé dans dolo-la. A pigeon was drinking from a little stream. An ant who was leaning over fell into the water. (BD)To turn over; renverser. To pran to chari. To ponche latè-la. De ou trwa fwa, to vyen avèk en pyòcheuz. You take your plow. You turn over the earth. Two or three times, you come with a tiller. (CA) See examples
• pansé CA, MO 60 ( v.tr. ) pans CA, PC pons PC pons(é) NE pansè MO 60
  1. To think; penser.
     Mo pans se de Bwèch ki vyen deu Lafrans. I think they are the Bueche family who came from France. (PC); Mo pans li te kapab di man sa avon. I think he could have told me that before. (CA) ♦ Ça fé mo la bouche coulé chaque fois qué mo pensé à bon qui choses la yé qué mo ouar dans salle à manger soir là. That makes my mouth water each time that I think of the good things that I saw in the dining room that night. (T40) See examples
  2. To think about, think of; penser à.
     ♦ Quand moune gagnin vingt-cinq pitis moune pas capabe pensé yé tout temps. When people have twenty-five children they can’t think of all of them at once. (FO T17) See examples
• pant No sources ( n. ) pan BT
  1. Slope, gradient; pente.
     Ti wa, parti isi pour ale o bwa, eh kwa ina ven-deu pye de pan, e sa sanm pa sa. You see, heading to the woods from here, I think there are twenty-two feet of slope, and it doesn’t seem like it. (BT) ♦ Lapant lekò-la te apik, e li te pa fouti desann pou kouri che so larjan. The slope of the bank was steep, and he couldn’t get down to his money. (JR) See examples
• pantalon CA, MO 60 ( n. ) patalon CA, NE, PC, ST pintalon PC pontalon NE
  1. Pants, trousers; pantalon.
     Ena èn don se vyeu nèg-la, li t ole en patalon. One of those old blacks wanted a pair of pants. (NE); Li te gen so patalon e so chimij. He had on his pants and his shirt. (CA) REM: NE says this term is rare; ‘Patalon’ refers to a dressier pair of pants than does ‘kilot’, (p. 114). cf. kilot. See examples
• pantur PC ( n. ) pantir CA pontul BT ponti PC pontur PC
  1. Hinge; charnière, penture, gond.
     Pontul, sète en morso fèr ke ti me ont deu morso bwò, sa fe ti pi ouvèr enn e pi fèrme. A hinge was a piece of iron that they would put between two pieces of wood, that way you could open and shut one of them. (BT); Pantir-la ape grouye. Li bezonn mèt lwil la-desi. The hinge is making noise. He needs to put oil on it. (CA) See examples
• panñin CA, PC ( n. ) ponyé NE ponñin CA, PC ponyin CA
  1. Basket; panier.
     Mo dòn ponye-la a ma momon. I give the basket to my mother. (NE); Le pangnen-sa-l. Those baskets. (PC); Pou Pak , to mèt to ponyen avèk dezèf bwi. Lapen va mèt doudous dan ponyen. For Easter, you put out your basket with hard-boiled eggs. The bunny will put candy in the basket. (CA) ♦ Compair Bouki pran son pagné avé so la pioce et yé parti couri côté bayou dan di boi. Brer Bouki took his basket and his hoe and they took off for the bayou in the woods. (T4) •pongnen a koud n.phr. (CA; PC). Sewing basket; panier à coudre. I te gen en pangnen pou mèt leu fil e lez egwiy, e en ti norye pou mèt lœrz epenng e lèz egwiy. E sète leu pongnen a koud. They had a basket for their needles and thread, and a little pillow for their pins and needles. And that was the sewing basket. (PC); Trap man ti pongnen a koud. Get my little sewing basket. (CA) See examples
• pap PC ( n. )
  1. Pope; pape.
     Le pap, se li ki dòn lalwa o katolik. The Pope, he’s the one who makes laws for Catholics. (PC) ♦ Pove vieux Michié Zipiter li perdi tout so pratique pasqué pape ordonnin tout moune quitté li. Poor Mr. Jupiter, he lost all of his clients because the pope ordered everyone to leave him. (FO T15) See examples
• pap No sources ( n. )
  1. Painted finch, any small bird; pape, nimporte quel petit oiseau.
     ♦ Si yé té mété toi dan ain bon lacage avé bon baro enfer, to sré pa cacé arien;...to sré resté tranquil comme pap-la va fé. If they put you in a cage with good iron bars, you wouldn’t be breaking anything; ... you would remain as quiet as a little bird in a cage does. (ME) •ti pap n.phr. (CA). Painted bunting; espèce de pape. See examples
• papa No sources ( adj. )
  1. Male; mâle. •popa chat
     n.phr. Tomcat; matou. An franse se en matou. An kreyòl se en popa chat. In French it’s a ‘tomcat’. In Creole it’s a [popa chat]. (PC) See examples
• papa MO 60, NE, ST ( n. ) popa CA, NE, PC, ST pap CA, PC
  1. Dad, father; papa, père.
     Mo moman , popa, tou te rete la-isit, se sa ki fe mo isi. My mom, my dad, all of them lived here, that’s why I’m here. (PC); So batis tèr. Se en papye e so non, so pap, so moman, so paren, so nenenn. His baptismal certificate. It’s a paper with his name, his dad, his mom, his godfather, his godmother. (CA) ♦ Lonnmen papa ti bebe-la trouve so piti te tou pal. The next day the little baby’s father found his child all pale. (LA) • gro-papa adj.phr. Big, big old; grand, cf. gro •vye pòp n.phr. (CA; NE); vyeu papa (CA; PC). Grandfather; grand-père. See examples
• papiyon CA, NE, PC ( n. )
  1. Butterfly; papillon.
     Mo te gen de soi e ye te fe en ta chinign. Apre trwa jou ye vini papiyon. I had two willows and they made a lot of caterpillars. After three days they turned into butterflies. (CA) ♦ Li té comme ein papillon a force li té pair. He was like a butterfly, so scared was he. (FO T2) See examples
• papiyòt CA ( n. ) papyot CA
  1. Paper roller, curler; papillote.
     Li pran de papye pou fè papyot dan se chve. Sa fe boukle le chve. She takes pieces of paper to make rollers in her hair. That makes her hair curl. (CA) See examples
• papyé CA, NE, PC ( n. )
  1. Paper; papier.
     E l dòn twa to papye sa to dekann peze. And they give you a paper telling you how much your cane weighs. (PC); Li pran de papye pou fè papyot dan se chve. She takes pieces of paper to make rollers in her hair. (CA) ♦ Mo zamé graté zigzag on papié avé plim. I have never scratched zigzags on paper with a pen. (T13) •papye d kòmòd n.phr (PC). Toilet paper; papier hygiénique, •papye sable n.phr. (CA; PC). Sandpaper; papier de verre. Pase l papye sable. To use sandpaper. (PC) •papye sigarèt n.phr. (CA). Cigarette paper; papier à cigarette. See examples
• par No sources ( n. )
  1. Share, part; part.
     In’ a déjà quèques ânnées mo’ pis capab’ travailler. Yé dit mon, mo’ déjà fait ma part. For a few years now I haven’t been able to work. They told me that I’d already done my share. (GY) ♦ Quand mangé la té tchui, compair Bouki té gagnin aussi so par. When the food was cooked, Compair Bouqui had also his share. (FO 1887) See examples
• par gen, MO 60 ( prep. )
  1. By; par.
     To ramase li e mare l par pake. You gather it up and tie it by bundles. (PC); Èiti te kontrole par leu Franse. Haiti was controlled by the French. (PC); Garson-sa-la te sòrti dèt mòrd par le marongwen. That boy was just stung by mosquitoes. (NE) • Mo té pas connin ça li té oulé représenté par costume là. I didn’t know what he wanted to represent with that costume. (T40); C’est par trou-là qué li chapé pou fout dé nou. It’s through that hole that he escaped to make fun of us. (T23) See examples
  2. Per, a, each, every; le, par, chaque.
     Li sure achte kichò par mwa. She used to buy supplies once a month. (PC) ♦ Bwa ti vè trwa fwa pa jou. Drink a small glass of it three times a day. (LA) See examples
• par-anmba PC ( adv. )
  1. Down, below; en bas.
     Ka li lav li, labou-la tanm par-anmba. When it washes [the cane], the mud falls down below. (PC) • Pa Chai a koné done vou dém ‘lon, si piti blan paranba yé pa pacé ladan. Pa Charles will give you a watermelon, if the white kids down the bayou haven’t gotten into them. (T17) See examples
• par-antour PC ( adv. )
  1. Around here; alentour.
     No, ye pa dòn otan kè sa par-antour isit-lè. No, they don’t give as much as that around here. (PC) See examples
• par-dèsu PC ( prep. ) par-desu PC pa-dèsu PC par-dési CA
  1. On, on top of, over; sur.
     De stov dibwa te gen kat plak. To ka mèt s kat chodjèr, pa-dèsu. Woodstoves used to have four burners, you could have four kettles on. (PC); Mo frèr mèt la brik par-desi volich. My brother put bricks on top of the siding. (CA) ♦ Gen li cho bouyon, la met pèrsonn-la pardesi lavapèr de sa. Get it boiling hot, and put the [sick] person across the steam. [' par-desi ’] (BI) See examples
• par-tèr MO 60 ( adv. ) pa-tè PC par-tè CA, PC par-tér NE
  1. On the ground, on the floor; par terre.
     Dekann-la kouche plat pa-tè. The cane is lying flat on the ground. (PC); Li lese mo po tonbe par-tè e li brize li. He dropped my pitcher on the floor and he broke it. (CA) • Mo té si pressé pou sorti qué mo fou latable par terre. I was in such a hurry to leave that I knocked the table over. (T23) See examples
  2. Down; vers le bas. •me par-tèr
     v.phr. To set down, put down; (re)mettre, poser, faire descendre, jouer (dans un jeu), cf. mèt See examples
• parad BT ( n. )
  1. Display of dressy clothing, ornament, show; pompe, spectacle.
     Ye pèl sa en krotch, me se konm enn epen aglèt to tach apre twa. To me sa pour enn parad. They call it a brooch, but it’s like a pin that you attach to your clothing. You wear that for show. (BT) See examples
• paradi CA, MO 60, NE, PC ( n. )
  1. Heaven; paradis.
     Bon Djé voye sent-la andan paradi. God sent the saint to Heaven. (PC); Dan paradi enòra de lanj e Sènyœr-la. In heaven, there will be angels and the Lord. (CA) • Mé péhi paradis si tan louen, bon courore lasse et li coucé apé dromi. But the land of See examples
• paradisé PC ( n. )
  1. Area, region; parages.
• paradé No sources ( v.intr. )
  1. To parade; parader, défiler.
     ♦ Nou va paradé su le Claiborne tou la journin, et le soir, na pa lé dan bal. We’ll parade on Claiborne Avenue, and in the evening, we’ll go to a dance. (WO) See examples
• paralizé CA, PC, ST ( v.tr. ) paraliz BT
  1. To paralyze; paraliser.
     Li pi pli marche enn fwa li konye dan lasèrvèl. Sa paraliz tou se pat. It [the pig] can’t walk any more once you’ve hit it in the head. That paralyzes all its paws. (BT); Kòm si vou do paralize. As if your back were paralyzed. (PC) ♦ Kon en bebe paralize e li pa kapab marche. When a baby is paralyzed and it can’t walk. (BI) See examples
• paran CA, PC ( n., adj. ) paron NE
  1. Relative; parent.
     Mo gen paran dan INDIANA. I have relatives in Indiana. (PC); Li an dey pou so paran ke mòr. She is in mourning for her relative who died. (CA) ♦ Alo’s c’est to parents-yé. Tout to fonmille toujou’gain cont’moin et même to chien. So that’s a member of your family. Everyone in your family has held a grudge against me, including your dog. (BD) See examples
  2. Parent; parent.
     To paran di twa sa? Did your parents tell you that? (PC); Li te pa obeisan. Li kout pa so paran-ye . He wasn’t obedient. He doesn’t listen to his parents. (CA) ♦ Yé parent té défende yé couri au ras fléve. Their parents forbad them to go near the river. (FO T22) •vyeu paron n.phr. (NE); vyeu paran, vye parante (CA). Ancestors; ancêtres. Me no vye paron a nouzòt te èsklav. But our ancestors were slaves. (NE); No vyeu paran te tere larjan e lor ou mayèr trezòr. Our ancestors buried money and gold or some kind of treasure. (CA)•paran avèk (e) adj.phr. (CA; PC); parè avek (PC). Related to; apparenté à. Li pa paran avèk pèrsòn dòt. Li pa paran e Ledif ni aryen koum sa. He’s not related to anyone else. He’s not related to the LeDuff’s or anyone like that. (PC) See examples
• paranté CA ( n. ) paronté NE
  1. Relation, family; parenté, famille.
     Se tou l mèm moun, se tou paronte ki rès dèryèr-isi. It’s all the same family, everyone who lives back here is related. (NE) See examples
• parasol PC ( n. )
  1. Umbrella; parapluie.
     En parasol se pou soley e pou lapli. An umbrella is for the sun and the rain. (CA) ♦ Si to ouvri en parasol don to lamezon sa don twa bèd lòk. If you open an umbrella in the house that brings you bad luck. (LA) See examples
  2. Parasol; parasol.
     Na de fwa soley-la si cho. Alòs mo pran mo parasol pou marche, pou proteje man de soley-la. Sometimes the sun is so hot. So I take my parasol to walk, to protect me from the sun. (CA) ♦ Jamin li té pas prend so parasol dans jou, jis la nouitte, quand li té fait ben noir. She never took her parasol out during the day, only at night when it was dark. (FO T18) See examples
• paratonèr CA ( n. )
  1. Lightning rod; paratonnerre.
     Ye te gen paratònèr pou trape tònèr e zeklèr pou peche lamezon brile. They used to have lightning rods to catch the thunder and lightning to prevent the house from burning. (CA) See examples
• pardi No sources ( int. )
  1. Of course! Naturally!; Pardi! Bien sûr!
     ♦ Pardi! cé pa étonnan si ain brave é onète jeunomme tournin fou, can li apranne que so moman cé ain célérate ki mérité yé pende li. Of course it’s not surprising if a fine and honest young man goes crazy when he learns that his mother was a scoundrel who deserved to be hanged. (ME 91) See examples
• pardon CA, ST ( n. )
  1. Pardon, forgiveness; pardon.
     Sa fe mo lapenn e mo mande li pardon. I am sorry and I asked his forgiveness. (CA) ♦ To conain Bon Djé bon, pas per, fais signe lacroix, et mandé li pardon. You know God is good. Don’t be afraid, make the sign of the cross and ask for his pardon. (T27) See examples
• pardoné NE ( v.tr. ) pardonnin ST pardonin CA
  1. To forgive, pardonner; pardonner.
     Bondyeu pardonnen moun si ye priye e mande pardon. God forgives people if they pray and ask for forgiveness. (ST); Jij-la deside, li rann so desizyon e li pardonen li. The judge decided, and he rendered his decision and he pardoned him. (CA) ♦ Li pardonnin moin dé bon coeur. He forgave me willingly. (T38) See examples
• parfé CA ( adj. )
  1. Perfect; parfait.
     Tou sa li fe li gen pou èt parfe. Li partikilye. Everything he does has to be perfect. He’s fussy. (CA) See examples
• pari No sources ( n. )
  1. Bet, wager; pari. •fe pari
     v.phr. To (make a) bet; parier, gager. ♦ Ma fait vous ein pari mo capab bimin vous. I’ll make you a bet that I can beat you. (FO T3) See examples
• parigori No sources ( n. )
  1. Paregoric (used as a cure for ailments including diarrhea and for babies who are cutting teeth); parégorique (utilisée comme remède pour plusieurs petits maux, y compris la diarrhée, et pour les bébés qui coupent des dents).
     ♦ La vou met di gout parigori ( si se en piti en n on. En piti si mwa ke sen gout). Then you put in ten drops of paregoric (if the child is a year old; only five drops if he is six months old). (BI) See examples
• parin CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Godfather; parrain.
     Mo fe tou mo piti-ye konfirmen, batize, fe batenm, batize katolik marenn e paren. I had all of my children confirmed, baptized Catholic and confirmed with a godmother and a godfather. (PC) ; Se en papye e so non, so pap, so moman, so paren, so nenenn. It’s a paper with his name, his dad, his mom, his godfather, his godmother. (CA) ♦ Fé ain tan superbe pou parrain rivé. The weather is great for when the godfather will arrive. (ME) See examples
• park CA, ST ( n. )
  1. Park; parc.
     ♦ A u boute pont la, coté yé, li fait ein grand parc. At the end of the bridge, next to them, he made a big park. (FO T15) See examples
• parkwa PC ( int. )
  1. You’re welcome, don’t mention it; de rien, il n’y a pas de quoi.
     Ken en moun di twa mèrsi to di parkwa. When someone says ‘thank you’ you say ‘Don’t mention it.’ (PC) See examples
• Parlanj PC ( place n. )
  1. Parlange (name of a famous plantation on False River); Parlange (nom d’une plantation célèbre sur la Fausse Rivière).
     Li te gen ti moulen dan Lamanch Parlanj-la. He had a little mill on Parlange Lane. (PC) See examples
• parliaj No sources ( n. ) parlaj PC, PC
  1. Talk, speech, way of talking; façon de parler.
     Ye gen tou ye parliaj. They all have their way of speaking. (PC) See examples
• parlé PC ( n. )
  1. Talk, speech, way of talking; façon de parler.
     Mon mo ka di twa en nonm ki bon e èn ki pa bon, jus garde li e so parle e so marche e so figi. I can tell you who is a good man and who isn’t, just by looking at him, at his talking and his walking and his face. (PC) See examples
• parlé No sources ( v.tr., v.intr. )
  1. To speak, talk; parler.
     Sètè kreyòl nou te tou parl anratour. We all spoke Creole around here. (PC); Ena en ta le piti ki pa kone byen parle longle AT ALL . There are a lot of kids who don’t know how to speak English well at all. (NE); Ye te parl franse. They spoke French. (CA) ♦ Tout ça qui ma pé parlé ça rivé y’en a si lontemps. All the things I’m talking about happened so long ago. (T36) Conjug: on parlon pres.part. Saying, talking; en parlant. Li di: ‘O non, non, mo krwa pa m ale joue’ li di. on parlon sa li di: ‘Trap BANJO-la ki laba don kwen!’ He said, ‘Oh no, I don’t think I’m going to play.’ But as he said that, he added, ‘Grab the banjo over there in the corner.’ (NE)To speak, talk; parler. Vye chyen, ye jis parl pa, se tou. Mè ye konpron tou sa di. Old [hunting] dogs, they just don’t talk. But they understand everything you say. (PC); Ye te pa an tren pou parle. They weren’t feeling like talking. (CA); Mo annouye kan mo tou sel e mo pa gen pèrsòn pou parle avèk. I’m lonesome when I’m all alone and I have no one to talk to. (ST) ♦Ma cré li soif aussi, lapé parlé di vin. I think he is thirsty too, he is talking about wine. (T27) •parle gra v.phr. (NE; ST). To speak ‘thick’, speak with an accent (term used by Breaux Bridge residents to refer to the speech of Saint Martinville); parler ‘gras’, parler avec un accent (terme utilisé par les gens habitant Pont Breaux en parlant des habitants de Saint Martinville). Ye parl gra. They speak ‘thick’. (NE) •parle on v.phr. (PC). 1) To say a prayer over s.o. or sth. in order to heal; prier sur qn afin de le guérir. Si to koupe to janm o to bra e disan è sengnen, to pa ka rète l, l a juch parle on li fe en lapryè. Te rète li. If you cut your arm or you leg, and it’s bleeding and won’t stop, he just says a prayer over it, and that will stop it. (PC) 2) To talk about; parler de. Nou gen pou aprann konmon se p pale kreyòl nou-menm, pase sa aret tou ouzòt pale o nouzòt. We have to learn how to speak Creole ourselves, because that will stop all of you from talking about us. (PC) •parle pour v.phr. (PC). To talk about; parler de. Ye te parl pou tou de kichòz koum sa. They talked about all of those things. (PC); Li monde li ki-se-sa li t ape parle pou. He asked him what he was talking about. (NE) •pale segre v.phr. (PC). To whisper; chuchoter. Mo pale segre e li. I whispered to her. (PC) See examples
• parmi NE, PC ( prep. )
  1. Among, in, through; parmi.
     Mo djus anntwa chèvrey-la pase parmi dibwa , kòm en zeklè. I just caught a glimpse of the deer through the trees, like a flash of lightning. (PC); Mo antoure parmi dikann. I’m surrounded by sugar cane. (CA) ♦ Parmi costume qui té fait plus l'effet té ein vielle buche et ein gros sabre. Among the costumes which made the biggest impression were an old log and a big sword. (T40) See examples
• parpiyaj PC, ST ( n. )
  1. Mess, disorder; gâchis.
     Se èn parpiyaj. Se kan ta mezon tou an bourvè se tou kèkchoj paye. It’s a mess. It’s when your house is in disorder, when everything is scattered around. (PC) See examples
  2. Junk, trash; camelote, rebuts, objets sans valeur. (PC)
• parpiyé ST ( v.tr. )
  1. To scatter, spread out; éparpiller.
     ♦ Li pondi so dezef dan trou; pi li mété ti brin sabe on yé et pi li parpillé feille on so ni. She laid her eggs in the hole, and put a little sand on top of them and scattered leaves over her nest. (T4) See examples
  2. To make a mess; faire un gâchis.
     Piti-le parpiye lachanm devan e lese tou kikchoz pou mwa ramase. The children made the front room a mess and left me to pick everything up. (ST) See examples
• parskœ No sources ( conj. ) parské CA, NE paské CA, PC paski BT, PC pasé PC pase PC paskè MO 60, PC parskè CA, ST
  1. Because; parce que.
     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); Mo t ape dikte pou li parskè l ole prann sa ann ekritur. I was dictating for him because he wants to take it in writing. (CA) ♦ Mo lémé mié mayé avé Compair Bouki passé mayé avé Compair Lapin pasqué Compair Lapin so la tché to coute. I prefer to marry Brer Bouki than to marry Brer Rabbit because Brer Rabbit’s tail is too short. (T3) •paskè pou sa adv.phr. Why, the reason why; la raison pour laquelle. SPIRIT-le , li te kontinu viv e li te konnen fe tou moun pè , se paskè pou sa ye jamè trouve tou larjan-la. The spirit remained alive and he scared everyone, and that is why they never found the money. (PC) See examples
• partajé CA, MO 60, NE ( v.tr. )
  1. To divide into shares, share; diviser en parts, partager.
     M ap ale partaje avek twa mo dmen. I’m going to share my lunch with you. (CA); Kon bal-la fini, n a partaje larechon-la. When the ball ends, we will split the money. (NE) ♦ Li partagé dipain la en trois morceaux. He split the bread into three pieces. (FO T27) See examples
  2. To part (hair); faire une raie.
     To partaje so cheuve dan milyeu e to pengn li , to très li. You part her hair in the middle, and you comb it, you braid it. (CA) See examples
• partans MO 60 ( n. )
  1. Start in life; début, mise en train.