œuvres vives

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French

Etymology

From œuvre (work) and vif (alive).

Pronunciation

Noun

œuvres vives f (plural only)

  1. (nautical, dated) quickwork (the submerged part of a hull)
  2. (figurative) A person's vitals.
    • 1871, Amédée Achard, Récits d'un soldat:
      Il faut avoir été chasseur ou soldat pour savoir ce que c’est qu’une plaie au talon, à la cheville, au cou-de-pied. Mieux vaudrait avoir un bras cassé ou une balle dans l’épaule.Comme disent les marins, on est atteint dans ses œuvres vives.
      One has to have been a hunter or a soldier to know what a wound on the heel, or the ankle, or the instep is. Better to have a broken arm or a bullet in the shoulder. As the sailors say, one has been hit in their vitals.

Antonyms