Thermidor

[ thur-mi-dawr; French ter-mee-dawr ]

/ ˈθɜr mɪˌdɔr; French tɛr miˈdɔr /

Save This Word!

noun

Also called Fervidor . (in the French Revolutionary calendar) the 11th month of the year, extending from July 19 to August 17.

(sometimes lowercase) lobster thermidor.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of Thermidor

1820–30; <French <Greek thérm(ē) heat + dôr(on) gift; cf. -i-

Words nearby Thermidor

thermel, thermesthesia, thermette, thermic, thermic fever, Thermidor, Thermidorian, thermion, thermionic, thermionic current, thermionic emission

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

How to use Thermidor in a sentence

We will now see what the Tenth Thermidor brought to this unfortunate little monarch.
When a Cobbler Ruled a King|Augusta Huiell Seaman
First it swings off to one extreme, as it did in '93, and then started back on the Tenth Thermidor.
When a Cobbler Ruled a King|Augusta Huiell Seaman
We reach the end of the Reign of Terror, on the 9th of Thermidor, the most auspicious date in modern history.
Lectures on the French Revolution|John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
The remorseless tyranny which came to an end in Thermidor was not the product of home causes.
Lectures on the French Revolution|John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton

After an unsuccessful embassy in Tuscany, he was imprisoned as a suspect during the Terror, but freed after the 9th Thermidor.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Thermidor

Thermidor

/ French (tɛrmidɔr) /

noun

the month of heat: the eleventh month of the French revolutionary calendar, extending from July 20 to Aug 18Also: Fervidor

Word Origin for Thermidor

C19: from French, from Greek thermē heat + dōron gift

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