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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

le en · DET · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • /leɪ/ (US, especially)
  • (US) audio
  • /lə/
  • /liː/ (rare)
  • (California) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from French le (“the”). Popularized especially by the expression le sigh.

Meanings

  1. (humorous, informal) the
    • Waiter: 'Bonjour! I am le waiter on this ship! [...] Ah! Le strong silent type!' 1996 September 28, Game Freak, Pokémon Blue, Nintendo, level/area: S.S. Anne:
    • And then le boyfriend perks up and names around 8 different brands (Stila, MAC, Becca, Nars etc..) - I was *SO* proud of him!! :) 2002 December 27, Amelia, “Re: Neat things SANTA brought me...”, in alt.fashion (Usenet):
    • That's when Waitress Seductress Extraordinaire comes back and gets our order. […] "We're sharing an order of à la Appalachia, he says, handing over the menus and turning his focus back to me. Le waitress stomps off. I ask, "Why are they called that?" "Because when they've got the fries stacked up they're higher than a mountain range." I groan and touch my stomach. "You're funny," he says, his eyes twinkling. 2012 October 1, Miranda Kenneally, Stealing Parker, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 63:
    • […]upon arrival, le girlfriend realizes she has left her ID back at my house (a 1 1/2 hour roundtrip on the Metro), […] 2001 June 24, LaManna, “My Weekend...”, in alt.punk (Usenet):
    • Le mew. Le purr. 1949, Michael Maltese, For Scent-imental Reasons, spoken by Penelope Pussycat:
    • That was always OUR song (me and le girlfriend of the time). 2003 January 10, johnny dupe (quoting nowhere man), “Re: I can walk with jezus...”, in alt.fan.wings (Usenet):
    • If you tickle me again, I'ma kick you in le balls.

Deriveds

le sigh

Relateds

ze · moi

Source: en.wiktionary, “le” (article), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

le en · ADP · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • /li/
  • /lə/
  • /leɪ/ (sometimes)

Etymology

borrowed from Old French lez (“side”).

Meanings

  1. (obsolete) Next to, near (still used in some place names).
    • Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham near an old Roman road.
    • Dalton-le-Dale, Hetton-le-Hole, Witton-le-Wear