roseau

See also: Roseau

French

Etymology

From Old French rosel (“reed”), a derivative of Old French ros (“reed, tooth of a weaver's comb”), from Frankish *rausa (“reed”), from Proto-Germanic *rausą, *rauzą (“pipe, reed, shaft, tube”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to move, excite, grow”). The base word survives as the obsolete ros (“weaver's comb”). Cognate with Old High German rōr (“pipe”) (German Rohr (“tube”)), Old Norse reyrr (“reed”) (Danish rør (“reed, pipe, tube”)), Old English rysc (“reed, rush”). More at rush.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁo.zo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -zo

Noun

roseau m (plural roseaux)

1. common reed (Phragmites australis)
2. (by extension) any reed
3. quill, feather pen
   • 1949 [1946], Jacques Prévert, “Événements”, in Paroles [Words], Éditions Gallimard, page 51:

     il a une grosse tête de penseur / des lunettes en écaille / une grosse tête de roseau bien pensant

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• faux-roseau
• grand roseau
• petit roseau
• roseau commun

Related terms

• roselière

Further reading

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