Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
trepang ,sea cucumber
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French, alteration (influenced by bêche, grub) of biche-de-mer, from Portuguese bicho do mar : bicho, worm (from Late Latin bēstulus, diminutive of Latin bēstia, beast) + do, of the + mar, sea (from Latin mare; see mori- in Indo-European roots).]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
French
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word bêche-de-mer.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
chained_bear commented on the word bêche-de-mer
"Annette, who followed her in, found the thing like a giant bêche-de-mer inside the bowl. It lay there, dull and malevolent, a parasite expelled, abandoned on the porcelain shores of Craig's Hotel."
—Peter Carey, Illywhacker, 153–154
April 16, 2009