chef d'œuvre
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word chef d'œuvre. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word chef d'œuvre, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say chef d'œuvre in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word chef d'œuvre you have here. The definition of the word chef d'œuvre will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofchef d'œuvre, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: chef-d'œuvre and chef d'oeuvre
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from French chef-d’œuvre.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌʃeɪˈdɜːv(ɹə)/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌʃɛd ˈəːv(ɹə)/, /ˌʃeɪ-/, (spelling pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʃɛf/
Noun
chef d'œuvre (plural chefs d'œuvre)
- A piece of work that has been given much critical praise, especially one considered the greatest work of a person's career.
- 1872, James Legge translating Confucius as The Ch‘un Ts‘ew, Prolegomena, Ch. iv, Sect. i, p. 139
- Ch‘ing Twan-hëoh... took his third degree in 1,321. He was much employed in the office of historiography, and composed the Work next mentioned and another on the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw before he felt equal to this, which is reckoned his chef d'œuvre.
- 1872, James Legge translating Confucius as The Ch‘un Ts‘ew, Prolegomena, Ch. iv, Sect. i, p. 139
- A work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship.
- A work created in order to qualify as a master craftsman and member of a guild.
Synonyms
References
- “chef d'œuvre”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.