Kilo Lingo

le

masculine

/koʃ.maʁ/

Line drawing of cauchemar
Coloured illustration of cauchemar
#1504 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

nightmare

Word origin

From Old French cauchier ('to trample, to press down', from Latin calcare) combined with Middle Dutch mare, a night spirit believed to sit on a sleeper's chest. English 'nightmare' preserves the same mare.

Origin
Old French
Root
cauchier + mare
English cognates
nightmare

Grammar

Gendermasculine
Pluralcauchemars

Examples

J' cette .

I had a horrible nightmare last night.

l', .

Since the accident, she has nightmares every week.

déménagement .

That house move was an absolute nightmare.

' .

The little one woke up crying after a nightmare.

embouteillages , !

Friday evening traffic jams, what a nightmare!

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French · Free printables

cauchemar: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "cauchemar" (nightmare): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 31.