bêche-de-mer
Americannoun
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another name for trepang
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See Beach-la-Mar
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bêche-de-mer
1805–15; erroneously for French biche de mer < Portuguese bicho do mar literally, animal of the sea; cf. Beach-la-Mar
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From the ceiling of the kitchen hang pieces of bacon, and salami, and black bêche-de-mer.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Richard Hatteras, at your service, commonly called Dick, of Thursday Island, North Queensland, pearler, copra merchant, bêche-de-mer and tortoiseshell dealer, and South Sea trader generally.
From A Bid for Fortune or Dr. Nikola's Vendetta by Boothby, Guy
The two active young men were brothers who lived in the next village to his, and the pig had been theirs—so Kwaque narrated in atrocious bêche-de-mer English.
From Michael, Brother of Jerry by London, Jack
I fancy some of the Tahiti schooners trade here for pearl, shells, and bêche-de-mer.
From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Brassey, Annie
Kwaque demanded, who to his bêche-de-mer English was already adding pidgin English.
From Michael, Brother of Jerry by London, Jack
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
