bête rouge

noun

A mite of the genus Trombidium.

OriginFrench bête rouge →
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Meanings

nounbête rouge (plural bêtes rouges)

plural bêtes rouges

  1. A mite of the genus Trombidium.

    He had picked up bêtes rouges in the bush and they were crawling and burrowing under his skin.

    1934, Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust
    1 more example

    ‘The rashes on his legs and arms are bêtes rouges, and we can get rid of them with ammonia and zinc ointment.’

    1994, Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Minerva, published 1995, page 137

Origin

  1. Frenchbête rouge
  2. Englishbête rouge

From French bête rouge (literally “red beast”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bête rouge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/b%C3%AAte%20rouge

MLA

“bête rouge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/b%C3%AAte%20rouge. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bête rouge,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/b%C3%AAte%20rouge.

Source: bête rouge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.