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cauchemar. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
cauchemar, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
cauchemar in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From French cauchemar.
Noun
cauchemar (plural cauchemars)
- (folklore) A demon or witch in French folklore that drains a sleeping person's energy by night.
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French cauchemare, from Old French cauquemare. By surface analysis, cauque + mar. Compare Walloon tchôcmwår.
- First element from Old French cauche, from the verb chauchier (“to press”), from Latin calcare (“I trample, tread on”), from calx (“heel”), of uncertain origin.
- Second element from Frankish *marā (“evil spirit”), from Proto-West Germanic *marā, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ (“nightmare, incubus”), from Proto-Indo-European *mor- (“malicious female spirit”), from *mer- (“to die”); related to the homograph English mare. More at mare.
Pronunciation
Noun
cauchemar m (plural cauchemars)
- nightmare
- Antonym: rêve
Je n’ai pas pu dormir hier soir parce que j’ai fait trop de cauchemars.- I couldn't sleep last night because I had too many nightmares.
C’était un rêve ou un cauchemar?- Was it a dream or a nightmare?
Il a remué toute la nuit, je crois qu’il a fait des cauchemars.- He was tossing and turning all night, I think he had nightmares.
J’ai eu un accident ce matin! Je vais bien mais ça a été un vrai cauchemar!- I had an accident this morning! I'm okay but it was a true nightmare!
Usage notes
Cauchemar is often used with the transitive verb faire instead of the verb avoir . Faire un cauchemar = to have a nightmare.
Derived terms
Descendants
References