dévisager

French

Etymology

From dé- + visage + -er.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de.vi.za.ʒe/
  • (file)

Verb

dévisager

  1. (transitive) to peer at (someone's face), stare at (the face of)
    • 1924, Emmanuel Bove, Mes Amis:
      Lorsqu’une personne lui parle, il la dévisage, parce qu’il s’imagine qu’elle veut se moquer de lui. Au moindre sourire, il dit : — Vous savez… quatre ans de guerre… moi.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1990, “Tandem”, in Serge Gainsbourg (lyrics), Variations sur le même t’aime, performed by Vanessa Paradis:
      On dévisage / On m’envisage / Comme une fille que je ne suis pas
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

This is a regular -er verb, but the stem is written dévisage- before endings that begin with -a- or -o- (to indicate that the -g- is a "soft" /ʒ/ and not a "hard" /ɡ/). This spelling-change occurs in all verbs in -ger, such as neiger and manger.

Further reading

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