pourcuttle

P3O1U1R1C3U1T1T1L1E1

noun

A cephalopod with tentacles; an octopus or cuttlefish.

First used 16th–18th c.Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounpourcuttle (plural pourcuttles)

plural pourcuttles · alternative pourcontrell · alternative pourcontrel · alternative pourcoutrel

  1. obsoleteA cephalopod with tentacles; an octopus or cuttlefish.First known use 16th–18th c.

    The fish called a Pourcontrell [translating poulpe], or Manie-feet, changeth himselfe into what colour he lists, as occasion offereth it selfe; that so he may hide himselfe from what he feareth, and catch what he seeketh for.

    1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC

Origin

Uncertain first element + cuttle. The OED takes the forms with con to be easy misreadings of the earlier-attested cou (compare e.g. ouarine, a misreading of ouariue), but says pour- "can hardly stand for an earlier poul-" as on poulpe, polyp (compare polwygle, porwiggle as variants of pollywog).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pourcuttle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pourcuttle

MLA

“pourcuttle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pourcuttle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pourcuttle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pourcuttle.

Source: pourcuttle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.