poilu

[ pwah-loo; French pwa-ly ]

/ ˈpwɑ lu; French pwaˈlü /

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noun, plural poi·lus

[pwah-looz; French pwa-ly]. /ˈpwɑ luz; French pwaˈlü/.

a French common soldier.

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Origin of poilu

1910–15; <French, in earlier slang: tough individual, tough, brave, literally, hairy, haired; Middle French, Old French pelu (cf. plew) <Vulgar Latin *pilūtus, equivalent to Latin pil(us) hair + Vulgar Latin *-ūtus, for Latin -ātus-ate¹ (e>oi by influence of poil hair <Latin pilus)

Words nearby poilu

poikilotherm, poikilothermia, poikilothermic, poikilothermism, poil, poilu, poimenics, Poincaré, Poincaré conjecture, poinciana, poind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use poilu in a sentence

The captain in charge called my attention to a French poilu.
The Blot on the Kaiser's 'Scutcheon|Newell Dwight Hillis
Entering the Judgment Hall, the Poilu is bewildered by its austerity and splendour.
A Boswell of Baghdad|E. V. Lucas
He was a little poilu, hardly more than a boy, who had been left behind, too wounded to carry away.
The Wasted Generation|Owen Johnson
The gravel cried out; a shadow fell between us, and a poilu stood at attention.
The Wasted Generation|Owen Johnson

Pre Glorieux,—he drew out his pocketbook and handed it to the poilu,—you will find here the address of my mother.
The Wasted Generation|Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for poilu

poilu

/ (ˈpwɑːluː, French pwaly) /

noun

an infantryman in the French Army, esp one in the front lines in World War I

Word Origin for poilu

C20: from French, literally: hairy (that is, virile), from poil hair, from Latin pilus a hair

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