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entre chien et loup. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
entre chien et loup, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
entre chien et loup in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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entre chien et loup, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
French
Etymology
Calque of Latin inter canem et lupum (“between a dog and a wolf”), because at that time in the day, one can't see the difference. Traditional sentiment, dating to antiquity (found in 2nd century CE texts), in French from the 18th century.
Pronunciation
Adverb
entre chien et loup
- (literally) between a dog and a wolf
- (by extension, idiomatic) at dusk, at twilight; gloaming
1999, Anna Gavalda, “Petites pratiques germanopratines”, in Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part, →ISBN:Entre chien et loup, le boulevard s’est apaisé et les voitures sont en veilleuse.- At dusk, the boulevard is quiet and the cars have their side lights on.
- (photography) golden hour (used in same technical sense for “good photographic light at twilight”)
Usage notes
If used in poetic sense, witching hour, which describes a different time of day, when it is darker, but is similarly idiomatic, may provide a more evocative translation.
Synonyms
References