ouate

== French == === Pronunciation === (aspirated or mute h) IPA(key): /wat/ Homophone: watt === Etymology 1 === Uncertain. Often connected to Arabic بِطَانَة (biṭāna, “lining, inner part”), but this is phonologically difficult. Also compared to Arabic بَتّ (batt, “a square, thick, and loosely woven garment”), Hebrew בָּֽתִּים (bāttīm, “garments or hangings”) in II Kings 23:7, but this is commonly seen as a scribal error for בַּדִּים (baddīm), or כֻּתֹּונׅים (kuttōnīm). There is also the possibility of Japanese 綿 (wata, “raw cotton, cotton plant”) but improbable due to lack of contact. ==== Noun ==== ouate f (plural ouates) cotton wool Synonym: coton hydrophile ===== Usage notes ===== This word may optionally resist elision, as though beginning with an aspirated h, even though it is not spelt with an h. The aspirated pronunciation is the older one; the non-aspirate pronunciation has become common. ===== Derived terms ===== ouate de phoque ouaté ouater ouaterie ouateux ===== Descendants ===== → Dutch: watten pl → Italian: ovatta → Spanish: bata, guata ==== References ==== === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== ouate inflection of ouater: first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive second-person singular imperative === Further reading === “ouate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012