punaise

• IPA^(key): /py.nɛz/

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

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, of a woman) a bug, a nothing (a term of abuse)

• punaisien (rare)
• punaiser
• punaise de lit
• punaise des lits

punaise

1. first-person singular present indicative of punaiser
2. third-person singular present indicative of punaiser
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of punaiser
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of punaiser
5. second-person singular imperative of punaiser

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punaise

1. (colloquial, regional, Southern France) Euphemistic form of putain; darn, shoot, shucks

• “punaise” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).