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.

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

Example sentences from the Web for poilu

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