French word

lac

Pronunciation

IPA/lak/

Meaning

  • masculine nounlake

Example

Je vais au lac demain.

I'm going to the lake tomorrow.

Illustration for lac (lake)

More examples

Nous avons fait le tour du lac à vélo.

We went around the lake by bicycle.

Core concept

A self-contained sheet of fresh water held within a ring of land, with no open connection to the sea.

Common phrases

  • faire le tour du lac

    go around the lake

  • près du lac

    near the lake

Similar words

mer: A vast expanse of salt water.
océan: A vast, continuous body of salt water.
rivière: A flowing body of fresh water that empties into another waterway.
étang: A small, shallow body of still fresh water.

Definition in French

Masse d'eau douce, isolée par la terre et distincte d'une mer par sa taille.

Word origin

French lac comes from Latin lacus through the historical development of French, and its modern form retains the Latin stem.

Usage tips

  • In aller au lac, au combines à with the masculine article le, while au bord du lac means at the lakeside.

Opposites

Word lists with this word