galère

See also: galere and galéré

French

Etymology

From Catalan galera, from Medieval Latin galēra, alternative form of galea, from Byzantine Greek γάλεα (gálea). Compare galée, from Old French, directly from Latin galea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡa.lɛʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

galère f (plural galères)

1. (nautical) galley (kind of ship)

   Synonym: galée

2. (in the plural) torturous forced labor (long done at the oars of state galleys)

   Synonym: bagne

   envoyer aux galères ― send [them] to forced labor

3. (by extension, informal) a terrible task, drudge, ordeal, problem

   c’est une galère ― it's a hassle

4. a type of oven
5. (historical) mason's cart, for loading building materials
6. a group of people having a common interest, especially a coterie of undesirable people
7. an unpleasant situation

Derived terms

• galérien m
• vogue la galère

Related terms

• galéasse

Adjective

galère (plural galères)

1. (colloquial) difficult; hellish

Verb

galère

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

Further reading

• “galère”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• égaler, gèlera, régale, régalé, regela