chauve-souris
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See also: chauvesouris
French
Alternative forms
- chauvesouris (1990 spelling reform)
- souris-chauve, chauvessouriz (obsolete)
Etymology
Used as early as the 8th century in Gallic Late Latin calva sōrex (“bald mouse”); the first element ("bald") may originally be an alteration of Vulgar Latin *cawa (“crow, tawny owl”). Equivalent to chauve (“bald”) + souris (“mouse”).
Pronunciation
Noun
chauve-souris f (plural chauves-souris)
- bat (a small flying mammal of the order Chiroptera)
- Synonym: (Louisiana) souris chaude
- 2002, Ya-Fu Lee, Gary F. McCracken, “Foraging activity and food resources use of Brazilian free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis (Molossidae)”, in Écoscience, page 306:
- Les habitudes alimentaires des chauves-souris ont été déterminées à partir d’échantillons de fèces. Nous avons également vérifié la composition et l’abondance relative des différents ordres d’insectes dans les trois habitats à l’aide de pièges lumineux. Les villes où les rues sont éclairées par des lampes à vapeur de mercure constituent d’importantes aires d’alimentation pour les chauves-souris.
- Food habits of the bats were determined from fecal samples, and the composition and relative abundance of various insect orders in the three habitats were assessed using light traps. Towns with mercury-vapor type street lamps appeared to be important feeding areas for the bats.
- (heraldry) a charge depicting the animal of the same name
Derived terms
Further reading
- “chauve-souris”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.