Kilo Lingo

le

masculine

/fak.tœʁ/

#3525 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

postman; factor

Word origin

From Latin factor ('doer, maker'), from facere ('to do, to make'). The postman sense grew out of an older meaning of factor as a commercial agent who delivered goods and correspondence.

Origin
Latin
Root
factor
English cognates
factor, fact

Grammar

Gendermasculine
Pluralfacteurs

Examples

.

The postman comes past every morning around nine.

.

Stress is an important factor in this illness.

J' .

I heard the postman ring the doorbell.

has two meanings that share nothing at first glance: the person who delivers the post (le facteur passe le matin) and an abstract "factor" in the English sense (un facteur important, an important factor). Context always settles which is meant. The feminine of the postal-worker sense is factrice, not facteur - it works the same way as acteur/actrice.

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French · Free printables

facteur: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "facteur" (postman; factor): 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 .