patauger

French

Etymology

From patte.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.to.ʒe/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

patauger

1. to paddle around, splash about

   Synonyms: barboter, s’ébattre

2. to squelch around, wade through (in mud, in wet terrain)
3. to flounder around (in mud or snow)

   Synonym: se débattre

4. (figurative) to flounder, get bogged down

   Synonyms: s’empêtrer, s’embrouiller

   • 2019, Alain Damasio, chapter 2, in Les furtifs [The Stealthies], La Volte, →ISBN:

     Alors j’ai repensé à Saskia, à ce qu’elle m’avait dit au Récif, un soir que je pataugeais dans un atelier de traquage numérique : […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written patauge- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

Derived terms

• pataugeoire

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• pâturage, tapageur