French Conversation · Level 48
74 words
French word
poil
Pronunciation
IPA/pwal/
Meaning
- masculine nounhair
Example
Il y a un poil sur ta veste.
There is a hair on your jacket.
More examples
Le chat a le poil doux.
The cat has soft fur.
Core concept
A visible strand or layer of coarse hair covering an animal's or person's skin.
Common phrases
poil court
short fur
poil doux
soft fur
le poil de l'animal
the animal's fur
Similar words
cheveu: A single strand or mass of relatively long, fine hair on the head.
barbe: A mass of coarse hair growing on the chin or cheeks.
duvet: Very fine, soft downy hair on the skin.
fourrure: A dense layer of hair covering an animal's body.
Definition in French
Filament qui pousse sur la peau des animaux et des humains, généralement plus court et plus raide que les cheveux de la tête.
Word origin
The noun poil is an inherited French development of Latin pilus, with its basic meaning of hair preserved through Old French.
Usage tips
- In the colloquial expression un poil, the word means a little rather than a hair, so context determines the sense.
Other meanings
- body hairnoun
- furnoun
Opposites
- calvitiebaldnessnoun
Related words
- poiluhairyadjective
- pilositébody hairnoun