cauchemar

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from French cauchemar. === Noun === cauchemar (plural cauchemars) (folklore) A demon or witch in French folklore that drains a sleeping person's energy by night. == French == === Etymology === Inherited from Middle French cauchemare, from Old French cauquemare. By surface analysis, cauque +‎ mar. Compare Walloon tchôcmwår. First element from Old French cauche, from the verb chauchier (“to press”), from Latin calcare (“to trample, tread on”), from calx (“heel”), of uncertain origin. Second element from Frankish *marā (“evil spirit”), from Proto-West Germanic *marā, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ (“nightmare, incubus”), from Proto-Indo-European *mor- (“malicious female spirit”), from *mer- (“to die”); related to the homograph English mare. More at mare. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kɔʃ.maʁ/, /koʃ.maʁ/ Homophone: cauchemars Hyphenation: cauche‧mar === Noun === cauchemar m (plural cauchemars) nightmare Antonym: rêve ==== Usage notes ==== Cauchemar is often used with the transitive verb faire [to do/to make] instead of the verb avoir [to have]. Faire un cauchemar = to have a nightmare. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== === References ===