French word

cil

Pronunciation

IPA/sil/

Meaning

  • masculine nouneyelash

Example

Ses cils sont longs.

Her eyelashes are long.

Illustration for cil (eyelash)

More examples

Elle recourbe ses cils avant de mettre du mascara.

She curls her eyelashes before applying mascara.

Core concept

Small hairs standing along the rim of a closed eye and helping keep specks away.

Common phrases

  • avoir de longs cils

    have long eyelashes

  • mettre du mascara sur les cils

    apply mascara to eyelashes

  • recourber les cils

    curl eyelashes

Similar words

sourcil: A line of hair above the eyelid that helps shape facial expression.
cheveu: A single hair growing from the scalp.
poil: A short hair growing on the skin of a person or animal.

Definition in French

Petit poil situé à la marge des paupières, contribuant à empêcher l'entrée de particules dans l'œil.

Word origin

The French noun cil is inherited through Old French from Latin cilium, which had the related senses of eyelid and eyelash.

Usage tips

  • The final s in cils is normally silent, so cil and cils usually have the same pronunciation.

Related words

  • cillerblinkverb

Word lists with this word