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FRENCH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

punaise.

bug, stinkbug; true bug (a member of order Heteroptera)

7 characters3 syllables approx.Français language

Meaning & usage

noun/py.nɛz/

  1. bug, stinkbug; true bug (a member of order Heteroptera)

    feminine

  2. bedbug

    feminine

  3. tack, thumbtack, drawing pin

    feminine

  4. a worthless woman (a term of abuse)

    colloquial · derogatory · feminine
Where this word comes from

From the feminine of punais (“having a foul odor”), from Vulgar Latin *pūtināsius, from Latin puteō + nāsus, based on nāriputēns.

verb/py.nɛz/

  1. inflection of punaiser: first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive

    first-person · form-of · indicative · present · singular · subjunctive · third-person

  2. inflection of punaiser: second-person singular imperative

    form-of · imperative · second-person · singular
Where this word comes from

From the feminine of punais (“having a foul odor”), from Vulgar Latin *pūtināsius, from Latin puteō + nāsus, based on nāriputēns.

intj/py.nɛz/

  1. euphemistic form of putain; darn, shoot, shucks

    colloquial · euphemistic · form-of
Where this word comes from

From the feminine of punais (“having a foul odor”), from Vulgar Latin *pūtināsius, from Latin puteō + nāsus, based on nāriputēns.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.