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

• shans CA, MO 60, PC ( n. ) lashansh CA, PC lashans CA, PC
  1. Chance, opportunity, occasion; chance, occasion.
     Dòktè-la fe mo lopèrasyon, mè li di mon navè pa granchòz lachans. The doctor performed the operation, but he said I didn’t stand much of a chance. (PC) ♦ Ye te blanmen Lapen pou la mò ye garson, e ye te gete en lachans pou rann li la menm choz. They blamed Rabbit for the death of their son, and they were waiting for a chance to pay him back. (JR) •gen lachans v.phr. (PC). To have a/the chance to; avoir l’occasion de. Mo te pa lachans . I did not have a chance. (PC); Mo te si malad mo pa i lachans pou ekri mo lòrd. I was so sick that I didn’t have a chance to write up my order. (CA) ♦ Li continié so vilain nabitude, chaque fois li té gagnin la chance li té soulé li bien. He continued his vile custom, each time he got the chance he got really drunk. (FO TI5) •dòme lachans (pou) v.phr. (CA). To give someone a chance to; donner à qn. l’occasion de. Li dòn pa li lachans pou sòrti . He didn’t give her a chance go out. (CA) ♦ Sa se donnen-ye en lachans pou ize ye nouvo langajœ. That gave them a chance to use their new language. (JR) See examples
  2. Luck; chance.
     To gen bon lachanch tan ki to viv. You will have good luck as long as you live. (PC); Mo te gen lachanch jodi. Mo gongnen bon larjan o kan. I was lucky today. I won a lot of money at cards. (CA) •bonn chans n. bon lachach (CA). Good luck; bonne chance. Tchanbon sa parskeu sa dòn to bon lachach . Hold on to this because it brings you good luck. (CA) •bonn chans adv. (PC). Fortunately, it’s a good thing that; heureusement que. Bonn chans èna lalun. Fortunately the moon is out. (PC) •gen lachans v.phr. (PC). To be lucky, have good luck; avoir de la chance. Mo te gen lachans. Blan kòm nwa te okip apre mon . I was lucky. Whites and blacks alike looked out for me. (PC) ♦ C é on 4 jiyet Zizi-Cri vini dan moune pou soavé nou zot zam; mè li té pa gaigné la chanche. It’s on a fourth of July that Jesus Christ came into the world to save our souls; but he wasn’t lucky. (T16) •move lachanch n.phr. (CA). Bad luck; mauvaise chance, malchance. Kan an chat nwar pas devan twa, sa dòn twa move lachanch. When a black cat passes in front of you, that gives you bad luck. (CA) See examples
• shanson CA ( n. ) shansan PC
  1. Song; chanson.
     Te chant en chansan pou Pè Chaveureu ki toujou pal pou sen. He sang a song for Father Chaveureux who was always talking about saints. (PC) ♦ Mo pran mo banjo et mo komancé zoué vié chanchon Mamzel Fany pa fé ça. I took my banjo and I began to play the old song ‘Mamzel Fany, don’t do that.’ (T14) See examples
• shansé MO 60, PC ( adj. ) shansœz BT shonsé PC
  1. Lucky, fortunate; chanceux.
     Mo te chansœz de zonm. Mo te gen en ta de BOYFRIEND. I was lucky with men. I had a lot of boyfriends. (BT); Li chanse. Li jou lotri e li gongn tou-l-tan. He’s lucky. He plays the lottery and he wins all the time. (CA) See examples
• shantyé No sources ( n. )
  1. Path; sentier.
     ♦ Solé coucé, Compair Lapin ouâ Compair Bouki apé vini dan ti chantié. At sundown, Brer Rabbit saw Brer Bouki coming along the little path. (T3) See examples
• shantèr CA ( n. )
  1. Male singer; chanteur.
     Li chant byen. Li en bon chantèz. She sings well. She’s a good singer. (CA) See examples
• shantèz CA ( n. )
  1. Female singer; chanteuse.
• shanté PC ( n. )
  1. Singing; chanson.
     Li te SORT OF LEADER dan chante. He was like the leader of the singing. (PC) See examples
• shanté BT, CA, PC ( v., v.tr., v.intr. ) shant PC shonté NE, PC
  1. To sing; chanter.
     L te kònen chante an franse. He used to sing in French. (PC) ♦ Ein jour, c'était dans printemps, tout ti zozos té apé chanté. One day in the spring, all of the little birds were singing. (FO T3)To crow (of roosters), cackle (of chickens); chanter (en parlant de coqs), caqueter (en parlant de poules). Ape chante, fe tren e fe nik pou kouche. They sing and make noise and build nests to sleep in. (PC) ♦ Poule apé ponde partout et coq apé chanté. The hens are laying everywhere, the roosters are crowing. (T27) See examples
• shaplé CA, PC ( n. )
  1. Rosary, rosary beads; chapelet.
     Se sa to pele en chaple, to fe lapryè on la. That's what you call a rosary. You say prayers over it. (PC); Ye te fe kòlye e de biy e to fe chaple osi. They used to make necklaces out of beads and you make rosary beads too. (CA) ♦ Pou koupe so don-ye, mo tret nèf grenn chaple pou met don so kou. When a child is cutting teeth, I treat nine rosary beads to put around his neck. (BI) See examples
• shapo CA, NE, PC, ST ( n. )
  1. Hat; chapeau.
     Monntre mwen to chapo nef Show me your new hat. (PC); No te pa kapab ale andan legliz san chapo antèr latèt. We couldn't go to church without a hat on our heads. (CA) ♦ Chapeau, quilottes, liettes, n'habit michié la , tout so butin tombe par terre . The hat, pants, glasses, the man’s suit, all of his things fell to the ground. (FO T2) See examples
• shapon CA ( n. ) shapan PC
  1. Capon; chapon.
     Mo te gen en ta kòk e profèsèr-la opere ye. Ye vini chapon. Lavyann-la te bokou pli tann. I had a lot of roosters and the high school teacher castrated them. They became capons. Their meat is a lot more tender. (CA) ♦ Chapons mainnain poulets comme poule, vini oi yé. Capons are leading chickens like hens, come see them. (T27) See examples
• shapòné MO 60 ( v.tr. )
  1. To castrate; châtrer.
• shar BT, CA, MO 60, NE, PC ( n. ) sha CA, PC
  1. Car; automobile, voiture.
     Mo sè te gen en bon cha. My sister had a good car. (PC) ♦En nave pa ni bato a vapè ni char. There were neither steamboats nor cars. (TP) See examples
  2. Train; train.
     To wa gro bilding ave en depo. Kan le char te pase, leu monn te kouri la pou prann char, an chmen deu fèr. Do you see the big building with a depot? When the train used to come by, people would go there to catch the train. (BT) •cha bagaj n.phr. (CA). Freight train; train à marchandises, •char fret n.phr. (CA); cha fret (PC). Freight train; train à marchandises. En gro cha fret. A big freight train. (PC); En char fret ap pase. Li plen e fimye. A freight train is passing. It's full of fertilizer. (CA) •cha pasajè n.phr. (PC); cha pasaje (PC); char a pasaje (CA). Passenger train; train à passagers. See examples
  3. Boxcar, train car; wagon.
     Ka ye gen cha-sa-a plen... When they’ve got the wagon full... (PC) See examples
• sharabon PC ( n. ) charabo PC
  1. Two-wheeled cart pulled by a single mule; charabanc.
     Charabon se en charet. Ye te chari fret don sa. A charabanc is a cart. They used to haul freight in that. (PC) See examples
• sharabya No sources ( n. )
  1. Babble, banter; charabia, baragouin.
     ♦ Na ein ki monthé anhau Iatabe et li charé lontan, mé mo pa tandé arien dan so charabia mérikien. There was one who got up on the table and spoke for a long time, but I did not understand a word of his American babble. (T16) See examples
• sharara ST ( n. ) chadara ST
  1. Weak coffee; café faible.
     Bon kaf e fe plap-plap, tcharara fé tit-tit. Good coffee goes plop-plop, weak coffee goes teet-teet. (ST) See examples
• sharbilé CA ( v.intr. )
  1. To chat; bavarder, causer.
     Ye te ap charbile. Mo pa konen sa ye t ap parle pou. They were chattering. I don’t know what they were talking about. (CA) See examples
• sharbon CA, PC ( n. ) shèrbon CA
  1. Coal; charbon.
     Ye bril charbon andan lokomotif. Se sa ki hal char-ye. They burn coal in locomotives. That’s what pulls the train cars. (CA) ♦ Alors blancs, yé prend ein canon et marré Zo prés so ladjole, yé limé li avec charbon, et Barber té fini so role. So the whites, they took a cannon and tied Zo near its mouth. They lit it with coal, and Barber finished his role. (T38) •bari charbon n.phr. Barrel used in the distillation of whiskey ; baril, tonneau utilisé dans la distillation du whiskey, cf. bari See examples
  2. Anthrax; charbon, anthrax.
     Mile-la malad ave charbon. The mule is sick with anthrax. (PC); Ye te trape maladi chèrbon, maladi tan dòn ye. They get anthrax, a sickness horseflies give them. (CA) See examples
• shari BT, CA, PC ( n. ) lashari ST lasharu ST
  1. Plow; charme.
     To pran to mule to krouvi li avèk en chari o avèk en dis. You take your mules and you cover it (i.e. the freshly planted cane) with a plow or a disk. (PC); Enn chari gen enn orey. A plow has a mold-board. (BT); Ye ape kouvèr mayi-la avèk en chari. They were covering up the corn with a plow. (CA) ♦ Viéneg dans rang dicane apé toumain laterre avec yé la charrie. The old blacks in the cane rows are turning the earth over with their plows. (T27) See examples
• sharibari CA, PC ( n. ) sharibaris PC
  1. Chivaree, custom of making noise in front of the room of newly-weds (when one member of the couple has already been married); charivari, coutume de faire du bruit devant la chambre des nouveaux mariés (lorsqu’un membre du couple a déjà été marié).
     Ka PRESTON marye MARY ALICE ye te gen charibaris ki dure la tou la nwi. Ye kri, e ye te la nwi e la motye la joumen. When Preston married Mary Alice, there was a chivaree that lasted the entire night. They shouted, and they went all night and half of the day. (PC); Si to te marye avek en vev, ye te dòn twa en charibari. When you married a widow they gave you a chivaree. (CA) See examples
• sharitab CA ( adj. )
  1. Charitable, kind; charitable.
     Li charitab. Li va toujou fe twa en favœr. He’s charitable. He’ll always do you a favor. (CA) See examples
• sharité PC ( n. )
  1. Charity; charité.
     Mo p ole mannde charité an mo-tchen lamanng ka m a kreve . I don’t want to ask for charity from my own death when I die. (PC) ♦ Ein vie négue borgnon vini dan diboi, apé mandé lasarité. An old one-eyed black man came out of the woods asking for alms. (T7) See examples
• sharj PC ( n. )
  1. Family, wife and children; charge, famille.
     Pièr e charj e reste dan sèt plas. Pierre and his family live in that place. (PC) See examples
• sharjé BT, CA, PC ( v.tr. ) sharj BT
  1. To charge (a sum of money); faire payer, demander (une somme d’argent).
     Li charje man si chèr. Sa-s-fe mo seye menen sa anba. He charged me so much. So, I tried to bring it down. (CA) ♦ Li kouri wa Madanm Djab e li mannde djables-la kanman li se charje li pou fe li vini gro konm en chevrey. He went to see Mrs. Devil and he asked the demoness how much she would charge him to make him as big as a deer. (JR) See examples
  2. To load (a firearm); charger (une arme à feu).
     To charj la kartouch, to ponmpe li, li va rantre dan leu kano. You load the cartridge, you pump it, it goes into the gun barrel. (BT); Fizi-la t ape rate. Li te pa charje. The shotgun was misfiring. It wasn’t loaded. (CA) See examples
  3. To load; charger.
     Mo travaye dan koupe le kann, charje le kann. I worked at cutting the cane, loading the cane. (BT) ♦ La levé qui asteur si vide, dé provisions té si chargé, qué miré yé rend moin stupide. The levee which is now so empty was so loaded down with supplies that looking at them made me speechless. (T37) See examples
  4. To charge, buy on credit; metter sur son compte, acheter à crédit.
     Mo te pa gen larjan. Sa-s-e mo charje sa mo te achte pou peye pli ta. I didn’t have the money. So I charged what I bought to pay for it later. (CA) See examples
• sharnyèr No sources ( n. ) sharnyin CA
  1. Hinge; charnière, gond, penture.
     Charnyen lapòrt fe dibri. Li bezonn grese. The door hinge is making noise. It needs greasing. (CA) ♦»Mo capab racomodé ain lessieu é tou ça qui cacé dan ain voiture: croché, vérou, charnière, gon, piton, tou ça cé kichoge ki connin moin. ‘‘ I can repair an axle and anything that is broken on a buggy. Hooks, screws, hinges, eye-bolts, all of that is something that I know about. (ME) See examples
• sharonñ CA ( n. )
  1. Carrion; charogne.
     Kan ena la charongn ena en ta de gro demouch a vèr. When there is carrion, there are big green flies. (CA) ♦ Ou yen na charony yen na kalonklo. Wherever there is carrion there are buzzards. (DU) See examples
• sharpantyé No sources ( n. ) sharpontyé PC sarpantyé PC shèrpontyé CA sharpan CA
  1. Carpenter; charpentier.
     En charpontye, li va pran en TRADE pou LEARN kanman pou travay la chèrpont, koman pou siye en morso dibwè, koman pouplase li. A carpenter, he’ll take up a trade to learn how to do carpentry, how to saw a piece of wood, how to place it. (PC); Li en chèrpontye. Li travay avèk dibwa. He’s a carpenter. He works with wood. (CA) ♦ Navé ein zeine sarpantié ki té traouail dan lamizon lèroi. There was a young carpenter who worked in the king’s house. (T7) See examples
• sharté CA ( n. )
  1. Cartload, cartful; charretée.
     Ye t ape charye en charte dikann e li deboule. They were hauling a load of sugar cane and it tumbled down. (CA) ♦Quand Bourriquet passé en haut pont, a force li galpé vite moune té cré c’était tonnerre qui té apé roulé plis dé cent charretées. When Bourriquet crossed over the bridge, he was running so fast that people thought it was thunder rolling more than two hundred cartloads. (FO T15) See examples
• sharyé CA, PC ( v.tr. ) sharié CA, PC shariyé CA, PC shari PC sharéy PC shèryé BT
  1. To carry, transport, haul; transporter, charrier.
     Mo papa charie lamal dan en ti charèt. My father carried the mail in a little cart. (CA); Charabon se en charet. Ye te chari fret don sa. A charabanc is a cart. They used to haul freight in that. (PC) ♦ C’eté pou aidé moin, donne moin ein coup de main pou charrier di bois pou bati mo cabane. It was a question of helping me, giving me a hand carrying wood for building my house. (FO T3) See examples
  2. To pick up and throw, heave (bushels of cane onto a wagon); soulever (les caisses de canne à sucre et les jeter sur le wagon).
     Epi koupe le konn chèrye sa a la men e menne sa o mule. And then I cut the cane, threw it by hand and loaded it on the mules. (BT); Chèrye se trape en basen de konn e tire sa dan l wagon. Chèrye, that’s picking up a barrel of cane and throwing it on the wagon. (BT) See examples
• sharèt CA, PC ( n. ) sharét PC
  1. Cart, wagon; charrette.
     Enen en charèt ki te pas. There was a cart going by. (PC); Li gen charèt avèk kandi, pistach e li vann ye. He’s got a wagon with candy, peanuts, and he sells them (CA) ♦ So onze frère yé vini voltigé autour charrette la. His eleven brothers came to hover around the cart. (FO T23) See examples
• sharé CA, PC ( v.intr. ) sharyé PC
  1. To talk, chat; parler, bavarder, causer.
     Mo kontan pou chare e twa. I’m happy to talk with you. (PC); Kan to sa la, no va gen tan pou chare. When you’re here, we’ll have time to chat. (CA) ♦ En jou Misye Lyon rankontre avek Pa Lapen. Li rete en ti manman pou chare avek li. One day Mister Lion met up with Brer Rabbit. He stopped a moment to chat with him. (JR) See examples
• shas No sources ( n. )
  1. Hunt; chasse, cf. lachas
• shasfonm PC ( n. ) shashfòm PC shasfanm DT, PC shasfam CA sajfam CA shajfonm CA
  1. Midwife; sage-femme.
     Mo gen trwa ki ne dan lopital, Tou lezòt ne kote la mezon , avek vye chasfonm, I have three kids who were bom in the hospital. All the rest were bom at home, with an old midwife. (PC); Chajfonm trapé ti bebe-la, The midwife delivered the baby. (CA) See examples
• shasi BT, CA, PC, ST ( n. ) sasi PC
  1. Window (especially one that opens vertically); fenêtre (surtout, fenêtre dont le châssis glisse verticalement).
     Kan la plu tonm mo fenm me chasi. When it rains I close my windows. (PC) See examples
  2. Door-frame; châssis de la porte.
     Paski ti fèrm la pòrt si fòr, t ape kase leu chasi. Because you slam the door so hard, you're breaking the door-frame. (BT) See examples
• shasparèy No sources ( n. ) sasparèl CA
  1. Sarsaparilla; salsepareille. (Callicarpa americana L.). REM: Holmes (1990: 135) does not use the English common name sarsaparilla, although he does give SF salsepareille, but it appears he is talking about a completely different referent.
     ♦ Pou move son ye te bouyi trwa ou kat laliyonn chasparèy pi ye te bwa sa. For anemia, they used to boil three or four sarsaparilla vines and drink that. (LA) See examples
• shasèr No sources ( n. ) shashè CA, PC
  1. Hunter; chasseur.
     Mo janmen monyen en fizi, mo janmen ète en chachè. I’ve never handled a rifle, I’ve never been a hunter. (PC); Se en bon chachè. Kan li va lachach, li toujou vini bak ak kekchoj. So kamasyèr jamen vid. He’s a good hunter. Whenever he goes hunting he always comes back with something. His shoulder bag (for hunting) is never empty. (CA) ♦ Chassère passé et yé mandé chien la ça lapé fait la, The hunters went by and they asked the dog what he was doing there. (FO T12) See examples
• shasé MO 60 ( v.tr. ) shashé BT, CA, NE
  1. To hunt; chasser.
     Mo deja chache de kokodri. Sète kat fwa, ch krwa, sen fwa, trap ye vivan. I’ve hunted alligator four or five times, I think. We caught them alive. (BT) See examples
  2. To chase out; chasser, expulser.
     Ye chaché le Fronse de la Kanada. They chased the French out of Canada. (NE) ♦ Cé pou chaché mouces avé tous si yé vini pou mordi toi. It is to chase away flies with a stick if they come to bite you. (T3) See examples
• shati BT ( n. )
  1. Wagon-bed; chartil.
     Leu chati, se konm enn kès. To poure mèt la pòrt , enn pòrt divan, enn pòrt n aryèn The wagon-bed is like a box. You can put in a door in front and a door in back. (BT) See examples
• shatig CA, MO 60, PC ( n. )
  1. Wildcat, puma; chat sauvage. (
     Felix concolor). Jwen pa en chatig andan bwa. Don’t go near a wildcat in the woods. (CA) ♦M ole to va chèche pou mwen enn kòp di le chatig. I want you to go get me a cup of wildcat milk. (JR) See examples
• shatouyan CA ( adj. ) satouyan PC shatouyon ST
  1. Ticklish; chatouilleux.
     E twa, to satouyon ? And you, are you ticklish? (PC); Mo chatouyan. L ape chagrinen man. I’m ticklish. He’s bothering me. (CA) See examples
• shatouyé CA, ST ( v.tr. ) shatinin CA satouyan PC satouyon PC
  1. To tickle; chatouiller.
     Li satouyan li. He tickled the boy. (PC); Arèt chatinen man. Mo lenm pa sa. Mo ri me sa fe mo mal. Stop tickling me. I don’t like that. I laugh but it hurts me. (CA); Piti-le sirpran man e chatouye man. The child surprised me and tickled me. (ST) See examples
• shaviré No sources ( v.intr. )
  1. To capsize, overturn; chavirer.
     ♦Batiman chaviré; tou moune apé nager, macac oucite. The boat capsized; everyone was swimming, the monkey too. (ME 90) See examples
• shawi CA, MO 50, NE ( n. ) shawé PC
  1. Raccoon; raton laveur. (Brocyon lotor lotor).
     Sa k ape monje mai-la, se le chawi e le ra. It is raccoons and rats that are eating my com. (NE); M ap mire mo fizi pou twe chawi. I’m aiming my shotgun to kill a raccoon. (CA) ♦ C'était chaoué, la djeole pointi et ti jié nois. It was a raccoon, with a pointed nose and little black eyes. (T23) See examples
  2. proper n. Raccoon (folktale character); Raton Laveur (personnage dans les contes).
     ♦ La sete tour a Pa Chawe. Li danse, li fe de kri, men pa la pousyè. Then it was Brer Coon’s turn. He danced and shouted, but there was no dust. (JR) See examples
• shaynola CA ( n. )
  1. shoe shine; cireur de chaussures.
     Mo mèt chaynola desi mo soulye-ye pou fe li nwarsi plis. I put shoe shine on my shoes to make them turn more black. (CA) See examples
• shifonnin PC ( adj. ) shifonin CA, PC
  1. Wrinkled; chiffonné, froissé.
     So rob te tou chifonnen. Her dress was all wrinkled. (PC) See examples
• shifròb CA ( n. ) shifòròb CA shifro PC
  1. Upright dresser with mirror; commode droite avec une glace.
     Mo chifòròb se fe avèk sipre. Mo mèt mo lenj andan-la . My dresser is made of cedar. I put my clothes in there. (CA) See examples
• shik No sources ( adj. )
  1. Chic, elegant; chic, élégant.
     ♦ Si dans chic bal la, blanc mandé: paix, enfand '' chien! Pas reponde. If, during that chic ball the whites ask you, be quiet, son of a bitch! Don’t answer. (T33) See examples
• shik No sources ( n. )
  1. Quid, chaw, wad, mouthful (e.g. of tobacco); chique, bouchée (p.ex. de tabac).
     Té gain un de ces grosses chiques tabac. He had one of those big chaws of tobacco. (AN T30); Vye moun ye te pran en chik taba e mèt sa andan ye labouch. Old folks used to take a chaw of tobacco and put that in their mouth. (CA) ♦Si enn sèrpon mòd twa, sise plas la ou li mòd twa pi la met en chik taba on la. If a snake bites you, suck on the place he bit you and then put a quid of tobacco on it. (LA) See examples
• shik CA ( n. )
  1. Nerve; toupet, culot.
     To gen en tchik pou di mwa sa. You’ve got a nerve telling me that. (CA) See examples
• shikann DT ( n. ) shikonn BT
  1. Quibbling, bickering; chicanerie.
     Sete pa honnt sa k arive, la chikann-la? Wasn’t that shameful, what happened, all that bickering? (DT); Mo ten moun ki lenm pa la chikonn. I’m a person who doesn’t like a fight. (BT) See examples