Word origins

• Trois-RivièresA city in Quebec.
• trompe l'oeilA genre of painting that exploits human vision to create the illusion that the subject of the painting is real.
• -tropyexhibiting a behavior.
• trottoirA paved path, for the use of pedestrians, located at the side of a road.
• trousseA case for small implements.
• trouvailleA lucky find, a windfall.
• trouvèreA medieval lyric poet using the Northern langue d’oïl (precursor dialects of modern French), as opposed to their older, southern example, the original troubadours, who used langue d’oc (Occitan)
• TruchardA surname from French.
• truculenceThe state of being truculent; eagerness to fight; ferocity.
• truffA truffle.
• truffadetruffade (Occitan potato dish)
• truffièreA plot of land cultivated to produce truffles.
• trumeauThe pillar or center post supporting the lintel in the middle of a doorway or window opening, especially in a church.
• TruteauA surname from French.
• TudesqueGermanic; Teutonic.
• tuileA type of thin, papery cookie, often bent into fancy shapes and added as garnish to dishes or desserts.
• TullierA surname from French.
• tumescenceA swelling due to the presence of fluid.
• turquerieA trend in 18th-century Western European culture inspired by Ottoman culture.
• tuteurA four-sided pyramid- or obelisk-like trellis designed to help train climbing plants.
• tutoyTo address by the informal French pronoun tu (“you”).
• tutoyerTo address (someone) in French using the familiar second-person pronoun tu; to thou.
• tuyereA nozzle or similar fixture through which the blast is delivered to the interior of a blast furnace, or to the fire of a forge
• TVQThe Quebec Sales Tax
• tymbalOne of a pair of specialised sound-producing structures located below each side of the anterior abdominal region of various species of cicada.
• typhlophileA person who is interested in helping blind people.
• tyrannicideThe killing of a tyrant.
• tyrolienneA traditional folk dance of Tyrol.
• ubuesqueReminiscent of Ubu Roi, an early absurdist play; absurdly grotesque.
• UchenteinA village in Ariège department, Occitania, France.
• uchroniaAn idealized or fictional conception of a particular period of time, especially in the past.
• UeleA river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• uhlanA lancer, a soldier armed with a lance in a former light cavalry unit of the Polish, Prussian or German, Austrian, and Russian armies.
• unanimismA French literary movement based on ideas of collective consciousness and collective emotion.
• unijambistA person with only one leg.
• univerbationThe diachronic process of forming a new single word from a fixed expression of several words.
• univoltineHaving one brood or generation in a year
• UnzentA village in Ariège department, Occitania, France.
• UrduphoneUrdu-speaking.
• UstouA village in Ariège department, Occitania, France.
• usureTo commit usury.
• utricleThe larger of the two fluid-filled cavities forming part of the membranous labyrinth in the vertebrate inner ear (the other being the saccule) and into which the semicircular canals open. It contains hair cells and otoliths which send signals to the brain concerning the orientation of the head.
• uxoricideOne who murders one's wife.
• va banqueAll or nothing, all in, for broke; riskily putting everything on the line to either win it all or lose it all.
• vacherin glacéA cake-shaped dessert made of a meringue shell filled with ice cream and topped with whipped cream.
• vachetteA piece of strong steel wire with the ends curved and pointed, used on toe or quarter cracks to bind the edges together and prevent motion. It is clasped into two notches, one on each side of the crack, burned into the wall with a cautery iron.
• vagabondageThe state or characteristic of being a vagabond.
• Val-de-MarneA department of Île-de-France, France. Capital: Créteil.
• Val-d'OrA town in Quebec, Canada.
• ValentienA surname from French.
• ValentonA commune in Val-de-Marne department, Île-de-France, France.
• ValerianeA female given name from French, of rare usage.
• valet-de-chambreThe personal servant of a monarch.
• valet-de-placeIn France, a person who offered his services as a guide, messenger, etc. for hire, especially to strangers.
• Val MarieA village in the Rural Municipality of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, Canada.
• ValprivasA village in Haute-Loire department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
• VanconA surname from French.
• vancourierA precursor; one who comes before, or who leads a change.
• Vang ViengA city in Vientiane Province, Laos.
• vansireAn ichneumon, Atilax paludinosus (syn. Herpestes galera), native to Africa and Madagascar. It is reddish brown or dark brown, grizzled with white.
• vareuseA military tunic.
• varisseAn imperfection on the inside of the hind leg in horses, different from a curb, but at the same height, and often growing to an unsightly size.
• VarsovianOf, from or pertaining to Warsaw.
• vasquineA type of frock worn in Spain between the 17th and 19th centuries.
• vaurienA good-for-nothing; a scoundrel.
• vavangueVangueria madagascariensis, a flowering plant with a large orange edible fruit.
• VaxelaireA surname from French [in turn from Alemannic German].
• VègreA river, a right tributary of the Sarthe, having its source near Rouessé-Vassé, its generally southward course in the Sarthe department, France, and its mouth near Avoise.
• VeilletteA surname from French.
• veloutéA mother sauce in French cuisine, consisting of a light stock thickened with a blond roux.
• velteAn old French unit of liquid measure, approximately 7.617 litres.
• vendangeThe annual grape harvest, especially in France.
• VendéeA department of Pays de la Loire, France. Capital: La Roche-sur-Yon.
• VendémiaireThe first month of the French Republican Calendar, starting on the date of the autumnal equinox (September 22, 23 or 24) and ending on October 21, 22 or 23.
• VendômeA town and commune of Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
• veneurA huntsman, especially in France.
• veninSynonym of venom.
• vennelAn alley; a narrow street.
• VentôseThe sixth month of the French Republican Calendar, from February 19, 20 or 21 to March 20 or 21.
• ventre à terreAt breakneck speed.
• Venus de MiloAn ancient Greek sculpture believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus to Romans).
• venyA strike or blow.
• verglassilver frost
• verificatorSynonym of verifier.
• verlanA type of backslang used in French, in which the order of the syllables or sounds of words is changed.
• VeroveA surname from French.
• verrillonThe glass harp
• verrineAny savory or sweet food served in a small glass, typically in France.
• VersaillaisOf, from or relating to the city of Versailles, Yvelines department, Île-de-France, France or the famous palace located there.
• verslibristA free verse poet.
• vert russeSynonym of Russian green
• vervelleA rivet containing a hole, or a staple, on a medieval helmet, by which a camail was attached (or rarely, on another piece of armor, by which e.g. a lance rest was attached).
• vespasienneA public street urinal in France.
• VialatteA surname from French.
• vicereineThe wife of a viceroy.
• vichyssoiseA thick, creamy soup made from potato, leeks, onions, and chicken stock, and normally served cold.
• vicomtesseA French noblewoman having a rank equivalent to a viscountess
• victimationVictimization.
• VieauA surname from French.
• VieillotA French surname.