bourreau

French

Etymology

From bourrer (“to hit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bu.ʁo/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o

Noun

bourreau m (plural bourreaux)

1. torturer
2. executioner, hangman (the person)

   Synonyms: exécuteur, guillotineur, taule, tranche-tête

   • 1640, Pierre Corneille, Horace, act 5, scene 3:

     L’abandonnerez-vous à l’infâme couteau / Qui fait choir les méchants sous la main d’un bourreau ?

     Would you abandon him to the infamous blade / Which makes the wicked fall under the headman's hand?

3. individual who lives extravagantly

Derived terms

• bourreau des cœurs (“womanizer”)
• bourreau de travail (“workaholic”)

Further reading

• “bourreau”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.