besoin

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French, Old French besoing; can be seen as a masculine variant of besogne, from Old French besonge, from Old Frankish *bisunnija, from *sunnijōn (to look after) (whence soigner), possibly through a Vulgar Latin intermediate *bisonium. Compare Italian bisogno.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bə.zwɛ̃/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (France (Vosges)):(file)
  • Audio (France (Vosges)):(file)

Noun

besoin m (plural besoins)

  1. need
  2. want (state of being in need)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Haitian Creole: bezwen
  • Louisiana Creole: besoin

Further reading

Anagrams

Louisiana Creole

Etymology

From French besoin (need), compare Haitian Creole bezwen.

Verb

besoin

  1. to need

References

  • Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales