French word

escargot

Pronunciation

IPA/ɛskaʁgo/

Meaning

  • masculine nounsnail

Example

Regarde l'escargot sur la feuille.

Look at the snail on the leaf.

Illustration for escargot (snail)

More examples

Au restaurant, je choisis un plat d'escargots.

At the restaurant, I choose a dish of escargots.

Core concept

A small land snail carrying a spiral shell while its soft foot leaves a glistening trail.

Common phrases

  • un plat d'escargots

    a dish of escargots

  • manger des escargots

    to eat escargots

  • un escargot de Bourgogne

    a Burgundy escargot

Similar words

limace: A shellless land mollusk that moves slowly with its slimy body.

Definition in French

Mollusque terrestre à coquille spirale, se déplaçant lentement en glissant grâce à un pied musculeux et à la sécrétion de mucus.

Word origin

Escargot comes from medieval French forms escargot and escargol, borrowed from regional Romance forms whose deeper origin is uncertain.

Usage tips

  • Escargot is masculine, so the animal is un escargot and the plural is des escargots.

Other meanings

  • escargotnoun

Related words

  • escargotièreescargot farmnoun
  • escargotierescargot farmernoun

Word lists with this word