French word

pharaon

Pronunciation

IPA/faʁaɔ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounpharaoh

Example

Nous avons visité la tombe du pharaon.

We visited the pharaoh's tomb.

Illustration for pharaon (pharaoh)

More examples

Pour le carnaval, elle a cousu un costume de pharaon.

For Carnival, she sewed a pharaoh costume.

Core concept

A god-linked king whose authority joins government, worship, and the monumental tomb prepared for his afterlife.

Common phrases

  • un costume de pharaon

    a pharaoh costume

  • un documentaire sur le pharaon

    a documentary about the pharaoh

Similar words

roi: A hereditary ruler who governs a kingdom.
empereur: A ruler of a vast territory or several countries.
monarque: The head of a state ruled by one person or a ruling family.
souverain: A head of state with the highest authority in the country.

Definition in French

Personne qui, dans l'Égypte antique, exerçait l'autorité suprême sur l'État et le culte.

Word origin

The word passed from ancient Egyptian per-aa, "great house", through Greek pharaōn and Latin pharao before reaching French as pharaon.

Usage tips

  • French pharaon has three pronounced syllables, roughly fa-ra-on, ending in a separate nasal vowel rather than the English sound in pharaoh.

Related words

  • pharaoniquepharaonicadjective

Word lists with this word