foudroyant
Sep. 4th, 2024 07:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordfoudroyant (foo-DROI-uhnt) - adj., having an awesome and overwhelming effect.
As if being struck by lightning -- a comparison not chosen at random as it's the root sense: it's from French, the present participle of foudroyer, to strike with lightning, from foudre, lightning, from Old French fouldre, from Latin fulgur, from fulgēre, to flash, ultimately from PIE root *bʰel-, shimmer/gleam/shine. It's also used in somewhat outdated medical jargon in the sense of having a sudden and severe onset, but most of us can ignore that.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
As if being struck by lightning -- a comparison not chosen at random as it's the root sense: it's from French, the present participle of foudroyer, to strike with lightning, from foudre, lightning, from Old French fouldre, from Latin fulgur, from fulgēre, to flash, ultimately from PIE root *bʰel-, shimmer/gleam/shine. It's also used in somewhat outdated medical jargon in the sense of having a sudden and severe onset, but most of us can ignore that.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
---L.
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Date: 2024-09-11 12:53 am (UTC)Oh I love this one. I admit, the comparison between the way I'd pronounce it in French and the way I'd pronounce it in English is getting to me
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Date: 2024-09-11 02:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-11 12:32 pm (UTC)I think the medical terms moved on to "fulminant", now
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Date: 2024-09-11 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-09-11 09:19 pm (UTC)