oeil-de-boeuf

[ French œ-yuh-duh-bœf ]

noun

, plural oeils-de-boeuf [œ, -y, uh, -d, uh, -, bœf].

1. a comparatively small round or oval window, as in a frieze.

oeil-de-boeuf

/ œjdəbœf /

noun

1. a circular window, esp in 17th- and 18th-century French architecture

Word History and Origins

Origin of oeil-de-boeuf¹

< French: literally, bull's eye

Word History and Origins

Origin of oeil-de-boeuf¹

literally: bull's eye

Example Sentences

The Oeil de Boeuf, the famous hall of the courtiers, had a magical enchantment for Lecour.

From Project Gutenberg

No sooner was this completed than a rustling in the Oeil de Boeuf informed them that the King was passing.

From Project Gutenberg

No wonder that the Oeil-de-Boeuf feels melancholy, when you are suppressing its places!

From Project Gutenberg

Circumstances made the life of courts the best obtainable; but there is no trace of French 'oeil-de-boeuf' servility.

From Project Gutenberg

Complaints abound; scarcity, anxiety: it is a changed Oeil-de-Boeuf.

From Project Gutenberg