poilu

[ pwah-loo; French pwa-ly ]

/ ˈpwɑ lu; French pwaˈlü /

noun, plural poi·lus [pwah-looz; French pwa-ly] /ˈpwɑ luz; French pwaˈlü/.

a French common soldier.

Nearby words

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

Their murmurs rose to violent protest on behalf of the poilu.
Now It Can Be Told|Philip Gibbs
The poilu is leading a mule, a nice, gentle mule, carrying ammunition to a machine-gun section.
A Blue Devil of France|G. P. Capart
The poilu put him down as an Italian cavalry officer, and expressed the further hope that Italy would endure for ever.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Dec. 12, 1917|Various
The poilu, for he still was the soldier, passed on and confronted Von Holwitz.
The Wasted Generation|Owen Johnson

The poilu was a middle-aged man, and very drunk on some foul spirit which he had bought in a low cafe down by the river.
Now It Can Be Told|Philip Gibbs

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

Word Origin and History for poilu

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).