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

• pèr CA, PC, ST ( n. ) pè PC
  1. Father; père.
     Mo okipe apre mo pèr. Li aflije. I take care of my dad. He’s crippled. (CA); L te kònen chante an franse, te chant pou pret-la. Te chante pou Pè Chaveureu. He used to be able to sing in French. He sang for the priest, he sang for Father Chaveureux. (PC) 2 .proper n. Father (used of God); Père (en parlant de Dieu). Nan dou Pè e dou Fis e dou Sent Èspri ennsi swat il. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. (PC) See examples
• pèr No sources ( n. )
  1. Port; port.
     ♦ Comme dofin té proche por-là Athéniens pélé Pirée, li mandé macac si li té abité Athènes. As the dolphin approached the port that the Athenians call Pyrrhea, he asked the monkey if he lived in Athens. (ME 90) See examples
• pèrdi PC, ST ( n. ) pèsh PC pèsh PC pèrsh PC, ST
  1. Bass, green trout; perche, truite. •pèrdi gran-djœl
     n.phr. (PC); pèch gran-djœl (PC). Largemouth bass; espèce de perche commune nord-américaine. See examples
  2. Perch, bluegill; espèce de poisson. (ST)
• pèrdi PC ( n. )
  1. Loss; perte.
     En gran pèrdi, ye pèd tou ye dekann . A big loss, they lost all their cane. (PC) See examples
• pèrdi CA, NE, PC ( v., v.tr., v.intr. ) pèr CA pèd PC pèdi PC pèrd CA, MO 60, NE pèrdu ST
  1. To lose; perdre.
     Mo pèd mo pòt-mònè. Li bije t kèkplas. I lost my wallet. It must be somewhere. (PC); Li pèrd so moman e so popa. Li en òrfelen. Ye sa gen pou mèt li dan lazil. He lost his mom and dad. He’s an orphan. They’ll have to put him in an institution. (CA); Li pèrdu so bebe par foskouch. She lost her baby through miscarriage. (ST) ♦ Pove vieux Michié Zipiter li perdi tout so pratique. Poor Mr. Jupiter lost all of his customers. (FO T15) •pèd latet v.phr. To lose one’s mind, lose one’s head, go crazy; perdre la raison, perdre la tête, s’affoler. A pèd to latet , pèd to lespri. You’re losing your mind. (PC) •pèrd (so) lespri v.phr. To lose one’s mind, lose one’s head, go crazy; perdre la raison, perdre la tête, s’affoler, cf. espri •pèd (son) ton v.phr. To waste one’s time; perdre son temps, cf. tan •pèrdi pasyans v.phr, To lose one’s patience; perdre patience, se fâcher. cf. pasyans1. To get lost; s’égarer. No pèrdi dan gran lamezon-la. We’re lost in this big house. (CA) ♦ Nonm ki te konte-la esplike li ye traka e mannde li si li te pa wa en nonm ki te pèrd. The man who had counted explained their problem to him and asked if he hadn’t seen a man who was lost. (JR) 2. To die, be lost; être perdu, mourir. Le e pèd la, li pe e fe la, le e mouri. The plant is lost, it’s not going to make it, it is dying. (PC); Si en moun move, kanay, li pèrdi. If a person is bad, mischievous, he’s done for. (CA) REM: The forms pèrd and pèrdi do not seem to function like short and long forms of other verbs. NE notes that pèrdi is mainly used after the marker te, and MO 60 lists pèrdi as the past form. See examples
• pèrdri BT, CA, PC, ST ( n. ) pèldri PC pèildri PC
  1. Partridge; perdrix.
     Li te konnen lachas e mon nonk. Ye te konnen lachas pèrdri. He used to go hunting with my uncle. They would go partridge hunting. (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) See examples
  2. Bobwhite, quail; caille. (Colinus virginianus L.).
     Mo konne aou ina enn bann de pèrdri paski se i le kouche e pi ye manchaye antour. I always know where there is a band of bob whites, because they sleep and they eat in the area. (BT); Pèrdri-ye sifle. Bobwhites whistle. (ST) REM: RD says that pèrdri , usually with some modifier, denotes various songbirds, e.g. catbird, lark, thrush, cf. kay See examples
• pèrmi CA ( n. ) pèrmit PC
  1. Permit; permis.
     Li i pou achte en pèrmi pou bati en mezon. He had to buy a permit to build a house. (CA) ♦ Li payé cent piasse, li couri lachasse. Li dit c'est fini ya pli bal sans permi. He paid a hundred dollars, he went hunting. He said it’s over, there are no more bullets without a permit. (T10) See examples
  2. Prescription; ordonnance.
     Ena de fwa, de mèdikaman konm sa, ye p e von twa li ormi to gen en pèrmit ave en doktè. Sometimes they won’t sell you medicine like that unless you have a prescription from a doctor. (PC) See examples
• pèrmisyon CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Permission; permission.
     Ye monn momon e popa lapèrmisyon pou mariye e ye fiy. They asked the mom and dad permission to marry their daughter. (PC); To dòn to piti-ye pèrmisyon pou soti leswa tou sèl. You give your children permission to go out alone at night. (CA) ♦ Ça donne Lapin ein pé courage, alors li vancé coté chef néléphants et pi li mandé li la permission resté dans so pays. That gave Rabbit a little courage, and he went up to the head elephant and asked him for permission to remain in his country. (FO T15) See examples
• pèrmèt NE ( v. )
  1. To permit, allow; permettre, laisser.
     ♦ Dabor ki permette toi entré dan la mézon ? First of all, who let you in the house? (ME) See examples
• pèroké PC ( n. ) péroké PC piroké CA
  1. Parrot; perroquet.
     Moun-la ki te gen piroke apran li koman pou jire. The people who had the parrot taught it how to swear. (CA) ♦ Tousouite li rivé, ein bande pérokés passé pain béni et chakenne pran ein moceau. As soon as he came by, a flock of parrots passed the blessed bread, and each one took a piece. (T8) See examples
• pèrsh CA ( n. )
  1. Pole, stick; perche, bâton.
     No te gen de pèrch pou leve lakòrd-a-lenj pou chèse pli vit. Pèrch-la te gen en fourch pou leve lakòrd. We had two poles to lift the clothesline up to dry quicker. The pole had a forked end to lift the line. (CA) ♦ Li rivé au ras ein gros di bois sec qui té tombé dans dolo. -Ala nous zaffaire, li dit comme ça. Li coupé ein grand perche et pi li monté en haut di bois la. He came to a big dry tree that had fallen in the water. ‘That is just what we need,’ he said. He cut a big pole and climbed onto the tree. (FO T15) See examples
• pèrshwar No sources ( n. )
  1. Perch, roost; perchoir, juchoir.
     ♦ Li té traversé ein lacou ou yé té gaingnin ein gros dinde qui tapé dromi on so perchoir. He crossed through a big yard in which there was a turkey sleeping on its roost. (FO T7) See examples
• pèrsi CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Parsley; persil.
     M e plante pèrsi. I’m planting parsley. (PC); To mèt pèrsi dan boulèt e desi to gonbo. You put parsley in meatballs and on gumbo. (CA) ♦ To pe pronn nef pye pèrsi e bouyi ye. You take nine parsley plants and boil them. (BI) See examples
• pèrsyadé No sources ( v.tr. )
  1. To persuade; persuader.
     ♦ Voisin yé alorse persiadé lé roi qué c'était Jean qui té volé li. Then the neighbors persuaded the king that it was John who had robbed him. (FO T26) See examples
• pèrsé CA, MO 60, PC ( v., v.tr., v.intr. ) pèrs PC pèrsé PC
  1. To drill, pierce; percer.
     To pèrs en ti trou. You drill a hole. (PC); Li ole pèrse en trou dan lamiray. He wants to drill a hole in the wall. (CA) ♦ Compair Tigue, ki té apé guêté, oua so ti dan, et sotté on li drette et percé so cou avé so kro. Brer Tiger, who was lying in wait, saw his little teeth and jumped right on him and pierced his neck with his fangs. (T8)To burst; éclater. Li t ape voye so BALLOON anlèr e li pèrse. He was throwing his balloon up high and it burst. (CA) See examples
• pèrsòn No sources ( n. ) pèrsonn CA, PC, ST
  1. Person; personne.
     Li te konnen kan chak pèrsonn te kouri mourir. He knew when each person was going to die. (PC) ♦ De temps en temps, ein personne déguisée en paysage rouge qui marqué Low Hell té rété pou parlé yé. Every now and then a person dressed up as a red landscape marked ‘Low Hell’ would stop to talk to them. (T40) See examples
• pèrsòn CA, MO 60, NE, PC ( pron. ) pèrsonn BT, CA, PC, ST parsòn CA pèsonn PC pèson PC
  1. No one; personne.
     Pèson pa fe l aryen. No one did anything to him. (PC); Ye bandonen mezon-la. Ena pi pèrsonn ki rès andan-la. They abandoned the house. No one lives there anymore. (CA) ♦ Compair Lapin gagnin la bouche si tellement doux que personne pas capab réfisé li arien. Brer Rabbit was such a sweet talker that no one could refuse him anything. (FO T1) See examples
  2. indef Someone, anyone; quelqu’un.
     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) • Lapin offert so tchène moman on marché, mais avant personne achté li, Man Lapin cassé so la ficelle et chapé. Rabbit offered his own mother for sale, but before anyone bought her, Mrs. Rabbit broke her string and escaped. (T9) •pèrsonn dòt n.phr. Anyone else; personne d’autre. Li seye èt plis ke pèrsonn dòt. He’s trying to be better than anyone else (putting on airs). (ST) See examples
• pèrt No sources ( n., n.phr. ) pèrt ton NE
  1. Waste of time; perte de temps.
     Se jich en pèrt ton galope avèk twa! It’s just a waste of time to run with you. (NE) See examples
• pèsh MO 60, NE, PC ( n. ) dépèsh CA, PC dépésh PC
  1. Peach; pêche.
     Nou te gen plen depèch avèk defig. We used to have a lot of peaches and figs. (PC) ♦ Mo oir ain ti dépéche qui dja tournain tout rose. I see a little peach that has already turned pink. (T27) •pèch kit-nwayo n.phr. (CA; PC). Freestone peach; variété de peche dont la chair n’ adhère pas au noyau. En kit-nwayo se en depèch ki nwayo rèst pa apre nwayo-la. A freestone peach is a peach that pit doesn’t stick to the pit. (CA) •depech konmin n.phr. (PC); depèch kòmin (PC). Clingstone peach; pavie. Gro depech konmin-ye. Big clingstone peaches. (PC) •depèch kochon n.phr. (CA; PC). Hard little peaches; petites pêches dures. Depèch kochon-ye vyen pa gro. Ye dir. To kwi ye jichka ye vyen tann. Sa fe bon konfitir. Hard little peaches don’t get very big. They’re hard. You cook them till they get soft. They make a good jam. (CA) •depèch a ji n.phr. (CA). Clingstone peach; pavie. Kan t ape manje en depèch a ji, diji ape koule. When you eat a clingstone peach, the juice runs out. (CA) • dibwa depèch n.phr. : (CA; PC). Peach tree; pêcher, •pye depèch n.phr. (PC); pye depech (PC). Peach tree; pêcher. Dibwa-sa-a se en pye depech. That tree is a peach tree. (PC) See examples
• pèshé CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Sin; péché.
     Tan to di kanfèse to pèche. When you had to confess your sins. (PC); Mo pa gen pèche pou konfèse. I don’t have sins to confess. (CA) See examples
• pèshé CA, PC ( n. ) péshé PC
  1. Peach tree; pêcher.
     Dibwa-sa-la sa se en peche. That tree is a peach tree. (PC) ♦ Mais si lagrêle tombé, adjé prinier, adjé pêché! But if hail falls, good bye prune trees, good bye peach trees! (T27) See examples
• pèshé CA, MO 60, PC ( v.intr. ) péshé PC pèsh CA
  1. To fish, go fishing; pêcher, aller a la pêche.
     Se la moun-ye va pèche. That’s where people go fishing. (PC); No gen en lavwar ki va dan lak e no pèch la. We have a pier that goes into the lake and we fish there. (CA) ♦ Et pis bamby , li temps négrillons cou péché: Yé cou trapé cribisse, barbi et patassa. Shortly it’s time for little black boys to go fishing; they go catch crawfish, catfish and sunfish. (T27) See examples
• pèshé No sources ( v.tr., v.aux. )
  1. To prevent, stop, keep (from); empêcher (de).
     Li kache larjan-la, pèche mon trouve li. He hid the money to keep me from finding it. (PC); Ye tchonbon mon pou pèche mon tonbe. They held me up to keep me from falling. (CA) ♦ Ye frenmen tou jhet-ye e pòt-ye avan ye va kouche pou peche marongwan-ye rantre dan kabann-la. They shut all the windows and doors before they went to bed to keep mosquitoes from entering the cabin. (JR)To prevent, avoid; empêcher, éviter (de). Pou taye li ye se fouye trou , e fe li kouche an so vannt, pèche blese ti bebe-la, ye se taye li. To whip her they would dig a hole and make her lie down on her stomach, to keep the baby from being harmed, and then they would whip her. (PC) See examples
• pèshœr No sources ( n. )
  1. Sinner; pécheur.
     Cocodrie c'est ein gros menteur et comme tout so famille. ein gros pecheur. The Alligator is a big liar and like all of his family, a big sinner. (DC) See examples
• pèyman PC ( n. ) péyman CA
  1. Payment; paiement.
     Mo fe mo peyman an mo AIR CONDITIONER tou le mwa. Mo proch fini peye. I make my payment on my air conditioner every month. I’m almost finished paying. (CA) ♦ Lannmen maten li kouri mennen chwal-la e chèche so peyman. Lœ rwa donn li so kenz san pyas ye. The next morning he went to take the horse and pick up his payment. The king gave him his fifteen hundred dollars. (JR) See examples
• pé PC ( n. ) lapé CA pè MO 60
  1. Peace; paix.
     Ka-mèm inave lagèr, lape te signen, me sa toujou kontraye. Even when peace had been signed, they kept the war going. (PC); Li te jich ap chagrinen. Pou gen lape, mo di li sa li t ap parle pou sete bon. He was just complaining. To have peace, I told him that what he was talking about was fine. (CA) See examples
• pé CA, NE, PC ( v.intr. )
  1. To keep quiet; se taire.
     Piti-la t ap kriye. Mo dòn li en doudous e li pe. The child was crying. I gave him a pièce of candy and he kept quiet. (CA); Li di, pe mòm! He said, ‘Be quiet, Mom!’ (PC); Pe twa. Be quiet. (NE) ♦ Vaut mié to paix. You had better be quiet. (T24) •pe to ladjel! exp. (PC); pe ta djeul (NE); pe to labouch (CA). Shut up, Shut your mouth! Tais-toi, ferme ta gueule! ♦ Paix to ladjeule, dit Compair Lapin, anon vancé et pi couté, mo oulé connin ça yé apé dit. Be quiet, said Brer Rabbit, let’s approach them and listen, I want to know what they are saying. (FO T1) See examples
• péi NE, PC ( n. ) péyi CA, PC
  1. Country, nation; pays.
     Èiti te kontrole par leu Franse. E kon lapòpulasyon d nwar i te plu gro keu le blan se fe enn revolt. E ye prann leu pei. Haiti was controlled by the French. And when the population of blacks became bigger than the whites, they revolted and took over the country. (PC) ♦ Bambail zibié tou faroucé et parti dans lot péhie. Soon all of the game was scared off and left for other lands. (T6) See examples
• péi-ba CA, PC ( n. ) péyi-ba CA
  1. Forest, swamp, wetland; marécage.
     Èna du mòn ki pèl sa èn sipriyèr, pei-ba, ye gen tou kalte d non pou lè. There are some people who call that a [sipriyèr], a lowland, there are a lot of names for it. (PC); Peyi-ba, dolo rèst andan-la. Wetlands, water stays in there. (CA) See examples
  2. proper n. The Netherlands; Pays-Bas.
     ♦ Mo pas connin comment yé pélé Low Hell en français à moins qué ça soit Pays Bas la yé dont journaux parlé quéque fois. I don’t know what they called Low Hell in French, unless it’s those Netherlands that the newspapers talk about sometimes. (T40) See examples
• péizaj No sources ( n. )
  1. Countryside, landscape; paysage.
     ♦ De temps en temps, ein personne déguisée en paysage rouge qui marqué Low Hell té rété pou parlé yé. From time to time a person disguised as a red countryside titled ‘Low Hell’ stopped to talk to them. (T40) See examples
• pélikan CA ( n. )
  1. Pelican; pélican.
     Pelikan-la, se la remark la louziàn. Se en zozo. The pelican is the state emblem. It’s a bird. (CA) See examples
• pépèr CA ( n. )
  1. Grandfather; grand-père.
     Mon pepèr te alman. Li sòr dan alman. My grandfather was German. He came from Germany. (CA) See examples
• péri No sources ( v.intr. )
  1. To perish; périr.
     ♦ Tonnerr’ chiel tombé bourlé moulin. Tou’moun dans moulin là péri. Lightning struck and burned the mill. Everyone in the mill perished. (GC2) See examples
• péril No sources ( n. )
  1. Peril, danger; péril, danger.
     ♦ Bon Djé voyé so zange cherubin é saint Michiel dé lamer péril. The Good Lord sent his dear cherubim angel and Saint Michael from the perils of the sea. (TN) See examples
• péròksid No sources ( n. )
  1. Peroxide; péroxyde.
     ♦ Lave avek di peròksid don dolo fret tou le kenz minit. Wash in peroxide and cold water every fifteen minutes. (BI) See examples
• pésha ST ( n., v.intr., v.tr. )
  1. An herbal tea; une tisane. pete (CA; PC); pète (PC).1. To fait; péter.
     Mule-la ele e pete The mule is braying and farting. (PC); Li te gen en ta de gaz . Li te jich ape pete. He had a lot of gas. He was just farting. (CA) 2. To crack (said of a whip); claquer. • Jou la pété so fouet, la oi tou moune dans champ, jisqu’à ti négrillons allé sorti dans camp. The day he strikes his whip, he’ll see everyone out in the field, even the little black boys will go out into the field. (T27)To break, snap, crack; casser, faire claquer. Mo pa tan mo peite sa branch-en en kou d baton. I didn’t wait, I broke the branch with a stick. (PC) •pète en batay v.phr. To start a fight; commencer une bataille, provoquer une bagarre. Na defwa ye te pète en batay enndan-la. Sometimes they started a fight. (PC) See examples
• péshèr CA, NE ( n. ) péshœr PC pèshè PC
  1. Fisherman; pêcheur.
     Li va toujour rèste en pechèr. He will always remain a fisherman. (NE); Fèrdinan te nwaye dan larivyè. Sen en gro pèchè. Ferdinand drowned in the river. He was a big fisherman. (PC) See examples
• pétar PC ( n. ) péta CA, PC
  1. Firecracker; pétard.
     Se le kat de julièt. L ape tire en ta de peta. It’s the fourth of July. They’re shooting a lot of firecrackers. (CA) • Mo perdi vingt-cinq sous jour là Françoése tiré pétards dans Séna, et fai nous tou sauvé. I lost 25 cents the day Frances threw firecrackers into the Senate and made us all run away. (T33) See examples
• pétarad No sources ( n. )
  1. Succession of farts; pétarade.
     ♦ Can li parti, li baissé so la tête, pi li voyé vous ein démi douzaine paire cou pié; en minme tan li donnin vou ein pétarade, ça té pareil comme si yé té déchiré la cotonnade. On starting, he put down his head, then he kicked half-a-dozen times with both feet, and made a noise which was if you were tearing up a piece of cotton fabric. (FO 1887) See examples
• pétri CA, PC ( v.tr. ) pétri PC prèti PC
  1. To knead; pétrir.
     Mo te gen pou leve a trwaz-èr du maten pou petri mo lapat dipen. I had to get up at three o’clock in the morning to knead my bread dough. (CA) See examples
• pétèt CA, NE, PC ( adv. ) pitèt NE pétét PC ptèt PC pètèt MO 60, PC
  1. Maybe, perhaps; peut-être.
     T a kòrche li ta a gen ABOUT petet venn-senk pyas pou li. If you skin it you’ll get maybe twenty-five dollars for it. (PC); To vant jich ap grongnen. Petèt to fen. Your stomach is growling. Maybe you’re hungry. (CA) • To sa gen manje dmen e soupe ansanm, paske mo sa petet pa la pou donn twa soupe aswa. You will have to eat lunch and dinner together, but I might not be here tonight to give you dinner. (JR) See examples
• péyé CA, NE, PC, ST ( v.tr. ) péyé MO 60 pé PC péy PC pèi PC pèyè PC
  1. To pay; payer.
     Ka dekann ase chè, ye e peye twa konm, lanen pase ye peye venn-dè pyas pou en tonn. When cane is expensive they pay you [well], like last year they paid twenty-two dollars per ton. (PC); To pa peye man sa sete vo. You didn’t pay me what it was worth. (CA) ♦ Mo payé vous, oui! mais pas tout de suite. I’ll pay you, but not right away. (T1) See examples
  2. To pay for; payer.
     Gen pèyè tou kichoj astè-la. They have to pay for everything now. (PC); Yè tapè pèye de kochon kat sou isi. They were paying four cents [a pound] for hogs here. (MO 60) See examples
  3. To pay for, be (made) sorry for; payer, regretter. M
     ap seye dòn twa en konsitman. To kout pa. To va peye pou li pli tar. I’m trying to give you a pièce of advice. You won’t listen. You’ll pay for it later. (CA) ♦ Lapé laissé moin mouri faim et frette dihors, mais la payé moin ça. He is letting me die of cold and hunger outdoors, but he will pay for that. (FO T27) See examples
• pézé CA, NE, PC ( v., v.tr., v.intr. ) pèzé CA pèz PC péz PC
  1. To weigh; peser.
     Te gen en juj de pe ki te e peze dekann. There was a justice of the peace who weighed the cane. (PC); Mo gen pou peze an en ti balans tou sa mo ap manje parskè mo ON A DIET. I have to weigh on a little scale all I’m eating because I’m on a diet. (CA)To weigh; peser. Mo te tchwe en kochon ki peze apeple katre-ven liv. I killed a pig who weighed about eighty pounds. (NE) ♦ Pasqué des os ça pésé, et c'est meilleur marché sans des os. Because bones are heavy, and it’s a better bargain without bones. (FO T17) See examples
  2. To press; presser.
     Pou tire le tete a lavach, to just pèze desi e le-la sòrti. To milk the cow, you only have to press on them [the teats] and the milk comes out. (CA) See examples
• pòk PC ( n. ) pok PC
  1. Pork; porc.
     To pa kapab monje pok-la astè pou to PRESSURE . You can’t eat pork now because of your high blood pressure. (PC) See examples
• pòliman No sources ( adv. )
  1. Politely; poliment.
     Li reponn man poliman. She answered me politely. (CA) ♦ Li couri crié lafamine coté fourmi, femm ‘là, voisine; mandé li poliment pour prêté li mangé, si li capab sans dérangé. He went to cry famine at the neighbor lady’s, the Ant, and to ask politely for some food, if it wasn’t too much trouble. (T1) See examples
• pòm MO 60 ( n. ) dépòm CA, PC dépanm PC
  1. Apple; pomme.
     Depòm-la RIPE, li rouj rouj. The apple is ripe, it is deep red. (PC) ♦ Seulement en haut pommier té pli vini aukain des pommes. Except that atop the apple tree there were no longer any apples. (T37) •dibwa depòm n.phr. (PC). Apple tree; pommier. Dibwa-sa-a se en dibwa depòm. That tree is an apple tree. (PC) •pye depòm n.phr. (PC), pye deponm (PC). Apple tree; pommier. Mo plante en pye depòm. I planted an apple tree. (PC) •pòm jòn n.phr. (PC). A species of grass or weed used for medicinal purposes; une espèce d’herbe utilisée à des fins médicinales. Pòm jòn sa mo m e parle la, to pa foutu pase ora ye, ye pikan. La ye gen de ti plòt: E lè fèy-ye se de ti pikan. Ye pik to lamen oben to pye. The ‘yellow apples’ that I am talking about, you can’t go near them, they’re prickly. And they have little balls. And the leaves are little thorns, and they prick your hand or your leg. (PC) See examples
  2. Head (of a vegetable); tête (d’un légume), •ponm laieti
     n.phr. Head of lettuce; tête de laitue, cf. letu •pòm dechou n.phr. Head of cabbage; tête de chou. cf. chou pòm-kek n. Pound cake; quatre-quarts, espèce de gâteau. ♦ Mo croir mo gaignin acé dé zeuf pou fé ain ti pom cake demin. I think I have enough eggs to make a pound cake tomorrow. (WO) pòmad n. Ointment, salve; pommade, onguent, •’pomade camphrée’ n.phr. Camphorated salve; pommade camphrée. ♦ To té doite voyé Freddie coté l'apothicaire acheté pou ain quarti la pomade camphrée et bien frotté li. You should send Freddy to the pharmacist to get a quarter’s worth of camphor pomade, and rub it on him. (WO) See examples
• pòmyé PC ( n. )
  1. Apple tree; pommier.
     En pòmye mo gron-momon te pel sa. A ‘pommier’ is what my grandmother called [an apple tree]. (PC) ♦ Dans so chimin li contré ein pommier qui té chargé avec belle dépommes, li commencé mangé. On his way he came across an apple tree that was loaded with beautiful apples, and he began to eat. (FO T15) See examples
• pòpulasyon PC ( n. )
  1. Population; population.
     Èiti te kontrole par leu Franse. E kon lapòpulasyon d nwar i te plu gro keu le blan se fe enn revolt. E ye prann leu pei. Haiti was controlled by the French. And when the population of blacks was bigger than that of whites, there was a revolt. And they took over the country. (PC) See examples
• pòrt CA, PC ( n. ) lapòrt gen, MO 60 lapòt PC
  1. Door; porte.
     Chariot te pa bezwen ouvèr lapòrt pou konè kon se te jour. Charlotte didn’t need to open the door to know when it was day. (NE); Mo toujour akle lapòrt avan mon gonn kouche. I always lock the door before I go to bed. (ST) ♦ Mo tandé nome là vini kongné nouzote laporte cabane. I heard the man come and knock on our cabin door. (T13) •pòrt an vit n.phr. (CA; PC). Door with window panes; porte vitrée. ♦ Li défoncé la porte vitrée pou chapper et pi li prend galpé dans la plaine . He knocked in the glass door to escape and then he galloped off into the plain. (FO T2) •pòrt dèryèr n.phr. (NE); pòrt onaryèr (NE). Back door; porte arrière. Sa-fe Fronswa ton sa e i pron so fizi e i sòrti don lapòrt dèryèr. So François heard that, and he got his gun and went out the back door. (NE) See examples
  2. Gate; porte.
     En lapòrt, en pòrt dezè o en lapòt lakou. A door which opens to the field or the yard. (PC); En lapòrt du kour. A backyard gate. (CA) See examples
• pòrt-moné CA, PC ( n. ) pòrt-monwar PC pòt-mònè PC lapòr-mònwar PC pòrt-monin CA, ST
  1. Purse; sac à main.
     Lapòrt-monwar gen kase. The purse is broken. (PC); Mo lenm pòrt-mone-sa-a-la parskè li gen en ta plas andan-la pou to mèt diferan zafèr. I like this purse because it has a lot of room in it for you to put different things. (CA) See examples
  2. Wallet; porte-feuille.
     Mo pèd mo pòt-mònè. Li bije t kèkplas. I’ve lost my wallet. It must be somewhere. (PC) ♦ Gnia pa moyen badinin avec médecin cilala; avan que moune ki entré ouver yé labouche, fo yé ouver yé porte-monnai, é mette di piasse su so latable. There is no way to joke with that doctor; before people who come in open their mouth, they must open their wallet and put ten dollars on his table. (ME 91) See examples