requin

English

Etymology

From French requin (“shark”); see below.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹi.kwɪn/

Noun

requin (plural requins)

1. (dated) The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias).
   • 1893, Rev. H. J. Foster, “Jonah”, in The Thinker, volume 9, page 124:

     The big gullet of the requin shark, for example, could do so. It has been killed with men inside whole.

References

• “requin”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• quiner

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencian)

Verb

requin

1. inflection of recar:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative

French

Etymology

1539; Norman reflex of Old French reschin (12th c.), deverbal from reschignier (“to grimace while baring teeth”), rekigner (“to make an ugly face”), from Frankish *kīnan (“to split open”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.kɛ̃/

• audio

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Noun

requin m (plural requins)

1. shark

   Synonym: squale

   • 1968, “Bébé requin”, in 1968, performed by France Gall:

     Je suis un bébé requin / Au ventre blanc, aux dents nacrées / Dans les eaux chaudes, je t’entraînerai

     I'm a baby shark / White-bellied, pearl-toothed / In warm waters I will drag you

2. (derogatory) a person profiting from others by treachery

Derived terms

Descendants

• → English: requin
• Haitian Creole: reken
• → Romanian: rechin
• → Polish: rekin

References

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• niquer