French word

écaille

Pronunciation

IPA/ekaj/

Meaning

  • feminine nounscale

Example

Le poisson a une écaille brillante.

The fish has a shiny scale.

Illustration for écaille (scale)

More examples

Ses lunettes ont une monture écaille.

Her glasses have a tortoiseshell frame.

Core concept

A small hard layer lifting from a surface or forming part of a fish's overlapping covering.

Common phrases

  • écaille de poisson

    scale of a fish

  • écaille de tortue

    tortoiseshell

  • monture écaille

    tortoiseshell eyeglass frame

Similar words

peau: A soft outer covering of the body or face.
coquille: A hard shell surrounding a mollusk or egg.
écorce: A thick outer skin on a tree trunk or fruit.
pellicule: A thin layer forming over the surface of a liquid or food.

Definition in French

Petit fragment détaché d'une surface dure, comme une peinture, un mur ou la peau d'un poisson, formant une fine couche.

Word origin

Old French escaille developed from Latin squama and gave French écaille both the sense of a fish scale and that of a thin surface flake.

Usage tips

  • The related verb écailler un poisson means to remove its scales, while la peinture s'écaille means that the paint flakes or peels.

Other meanings

  • tortoiseshellnoun
  • flakenoun

Related words

  • écaillerdescaleverb
  • écailleuxscalyadjective

Word lists with this word