Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A soldier sent on an especially dangerous mission.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Lost to view; in concealment or ambush; close.
- adjective Accustomed to, or employed in, desperate enterprises; hence, reckless; hopeless.
- noun One placed on watch, or in ambush.
- noun A soldier sent on a forlorn hope.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Hidden . - adjective
Lost (from a soldier given a mission he is not expected to return from). - noun One placed on
watch , or inambush . - noun A
soldier sent on aforlorn hope .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word perdu.
Examples
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What a pleasant morning's work it would be to unearth this gem from its dark corner, where it has lain perdu so many years!
Diamonds and Pearls 1969
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What a pleasant morning's work it would be to unearth this gem from its dark corner, where it has lain perdu so many years!
Diamonds and Pearls 1861
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Of course Walter meant "perdu" -- lost -- but his French is awfully risqué.
The Lake of Devils 1996
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M.] 133 A la terre perdue, tout fut perdu, is the vigorous expression of the Assise, (c.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206
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If you enter by the railway from Paris, from Havre, from Dieppe or from Fécamp, it is by subterranean tunnels only that approach is possible, and up a flight of steps that you make your first acquaintance with a "coin perdu" of the town, a corner without character, without size, without the least promise of the beauty that is hidden further off.
The Story of Rouen Theodore Andrea Cook 1897
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Hearing, he said, that she was to be pursued, he took horse and galloped all night on the road toward Schloss Sonnenberg, whither, as it had been whispered to him, she was flying, in order to counsel her to lie 'perdu' for a short space, and subsequently to conduct her to the schloss of the amiable duchess.
Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith George Meredith 1868
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Hearing, he said, that she was to be pursued, he took horse and galloped all night on the road toward Schloss Sonnenberg, whither, as it had been whispered to him, she was flying, in order to counsel her to lie 'perdu' for a short space, and subsequently to conduct her to the schloss of the amiable duchess.
Vittoria — Complete George Meredith 1868
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Hearing, he said, that she was to be pursued, he took horse and galloped all night on the road toward Schloss Sonnenberg, whither, as it had been whispered to him, she was flying, in order to counsel her to lie 'perdu' for a short space, and subsequently to conduct her to the schloss of the amiable duchess.
Vittoria — Volume 4 George Meredith 1868
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Étude sur le deuil animalier: Si vous avez perdu votre animal de compagnie nous vous invitons à participer à une étude sur l'impact du deuil.
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We caught a glimpse of the banana pain perdu early on at a neighboring table, which peaked our interest, and we weren't disappointed.
Chris Kompanek: On the Culture Front: Blackbird and L2O in Chicago Chris Kompanek 2011
chained_bear commented on the word perdu
"fr. to lie flat or close."
October 9, 2008