polisson
English
Etymology
Etymology tree
English polisson
Borrowed from French polisson.
Noun
polisson
- (rare) A dishonest or mischievous person; a scamp.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:villain
- 1896 October, George du Maurier, “The Martian”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume XCIII, number DLVII, New York, N.Y.: Harper and Brothers, page 664, column 1:
- The polisson picked up his pocket-handkerchief and went—quite quietly, with simple manly grace; and that's the first I ever saw of Barty Josselin—and it was some fifty years ago.
References
- “polisson, n.”, in OED Online , Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
French
Etymology
From polisse.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔ.li.sɔ̃/
Noun
polisson m (plural polissons)
- naughty child, scamp
- 1958, Georges Brassens, “Le Pornographe”:
- J'suis l'pornographe / Du phonographe / Le polisson / De la chanson
- I'm the pornographer / Of the phonograph / The scallywag / Of the song
Adjective
polisson (feminine polissonne, masculine plural polissons, feminine plural polissonnes)
Descendants
Further reading
- “polisson”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.