bise

British  

/ biːz /

noun

1. a cold dry northerly wind in Switzerland and the neighbouring parts of France and Italy, usually in the spring

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Etymology

Origin of bise

C14: from Old French, of Germanic origin; compare Old Swedish bīsa whirlwind

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bise

“When I do my show I ask the audience by way of applause who’s done la bise since covid, the whole room applauds.”

From Reuters ● Sep. 28, 2021

Valérie Camus, 47, a director of human resources living in the Paris region, said dropping the bise with her work colleagues did not really matter.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2021

I have tried my best to avoid la bise — a gentle, platonic kiss said to have been introduced to the French by Roman soldiers during the Gallic Wars — ever since.

From New York Times ● May 1, 2020

Deep into last spring’s campaign to elect Socialist President François Hollande, Valérie Trierweiler could still be seen greeting an old confrère with la bise, a two-cheek kiss, on the edge of a media scrum.

From Newsweek ● Sep. 17, 2012

He drove over the Jura in the old style, revisited Savoy, and after weeks of bitter bise and dark weather, a splendid sunset cleared the hills.

From The Life of John Ruskin by W. G. (William Gershom) Collingwood