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
They took me back safe and sound to the bêche-de-mer station at last, and there I heard all about you, even to the saving of Peter.
From Queensland Cousins by Haverfield, Eleanor Luisa
That fellow is no whaler; look at his canvas, no smoke stains from the try-works there: he is a sandal-wood trader, or is after bêche-de-mer.
From The Pirate Island A Story of the South Pacific by Staniland, C.J.
The ancients were wont to believe in the existence of hostile mutuality between the swifts and the bêche-de-mer, though they have little in common in respect of appearance, attributes, and habits.
From My Tropic Isle by Banfield, E. J. (Edmund James)
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.
