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inconnu

[in-kuh-noo, -nyoo, ing-; French an-kaw-ny]
noun, plural in·con·nus [in-kuh-nooz, -nyooz, ing-; French an-kaw-ny] /ˌɪn kəˈnuz, -ˈnyuz, ˌɪŋ-; French ɛ̃ kɔˈnü/, (especially collectively for 2) in·con·nu.
  1. a person who is unknown; stranger.
  2. Also called sheefish. a game fish, Stenodus leucichthys, of fresh or brackish northern waters.
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Origin of inconnu

1800–10; < French: literally, unknown, equivalent to in- in-3 + connu, past participle of connaître to know, be acquainted with < Latin cognōscere; see cognition
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inconnu

Historical Examples

  • Footnote 2: The authorities for the period are Masson: Napolon inconnu.

    The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

    William Milligan Sloane

  • Mr. Blondelle, or Captain 'Inconnu,' did you want to see me?

    Tried for Her Life

    Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

  • The whole proportion is denounced by several men of standing and experience, none of whom are "inconnu."

    Our Vanishing Wild Life

    William T. Hornaday

  • Footnote 14: The volumes of Napolon inconnu contain the text of these papers as deciphered for M. Masson and revised by him.

    The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte

    William Milligan Sloane

  • There remain in these streams hundreds of miles unnavigated, and channels innumerable known only to the inconnu and the Indian.

    The New North

    Agnes Deans Cameron

British Dictionary definitions for inconnu

inconnu

noun
  1. a North American freshwater food and game fish, Stenodus leucichthys, related to the salmon
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Word Origin

C19: from French, literally: unknown
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012