ouate

French

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated or mute h)} IPA^(key): /wat/

• audio (l'ouate)

  (file)

• Homophone: watt

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Often connected to Arabic بطانة (“lining, inner part”), but this is phonologically difficult. Also compare Arabic (batt, “garment”), Hebrew (bt, “woven dress”).

Noun

ouate f (plural ouates)

1. cotton wool

   Synonym: coton hydrophile

   • 1986, “C'est la ouate”, in Loeb C.D., performed by Caroline Loeb:

     De toutes les matières
     C’est la ouate qu’elle préfère
     Passive, elle est pensive
     En négligé de soie
     C’est la ouate

     Of all materials
     Cotton wool is her favourite
     Passive, she is pensive
     In silk négligée
     It's cotton wool

Usage notes

This word may optionally resist elision, as though beginning with an aspirated h, even though it is not spelt with an h. The aspirated pronunciation is the older one; the non-aspirate pronunciation has become common.

Derived terms

• ouate de phoque
• ouaté
• ouater
• ouaterie
• ouateux

Descendants

• → Dutch: watten
• → Italian: ovatta
• → Spanish: bata, guata

References

Etymology 2

Verb

ouate

1. inflection of ouater:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “ouate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.