poilu

[pwah-loo; French pwa-ly]

noun, plural poi·lus

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

a French common soldier.

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)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for poilu

Historical Examples of poilu

Her poilu friends had nearly wrecked his shop for him on that occasion.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
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
A poilu in steely blue looked at them and saw that they were good.
Gladiator
Philip Wylie
Belle was as used to war as the most weather-beaten French poilu.
The Silent Readers
William D. Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for poilu

poilu

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

Word Origin and History for poilu

French private soldier, 1914, from French poilu, literally "hairy," from poil "hair," not of the head, but of beards, animal coats, etc., from Latin pilus (see pile (n.3)). In 19c. French the adjective had a secondary sense of "strong, brave, courageous" (Balzac).