punaise

See also: punaisé

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French punaise.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pyˈnɛː.zə/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: pu‧nai‧se
  • Rhymes: -ɛːzə

Noun

punaise f (plural punaises, diminutive punaisetje n)

  1. thumbtack
    Synonym: (Belgium) duimspijker

Descendants

  • Indonesian: pines

French

Etymology

From the feminine of punais (having a foul odor), from Vulgar Latin *pūtināsius, from Latin puteō + nāsus, based on nāriputēns.

Pronunciation

Noun

punaise f (plural punaises)

  1. (entomology) bug, stinkbug; true bug (a member of order Heteroptera)
  2. bedbug
  3. tack, thumbtack, drawing pin
  4. (colloquial, derogatory) a worthless woman (a term of abuse)

Derived terms

Descendants

Verb

punaise

  1. inflection of punaiser:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Interjection

punaise

  1. (colloquial) euphemistic form of putain; darn, shoot, shucks

Further reading