toison

See also: toisón

English

Etymology

From French toison.

Noun

toison (plural toisons)

1. (heraldry) A fleece.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:toison.

Anagrams

• nostoi

French

FWOTD – 27 January 2023

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin tōnsiōnem, from Latin tondeō (“shave, cut hair”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twa.zɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

toison f (plural toisons)

1. fleece
2. mop (of hair); mane
3. (slang) muff, pubes (especially of a woman)
   • 1985, José Pierre, Qu'est-ce que Thérèse ?, page 78:

     Je n’en avais pas moins l’impression bizarre que c’était sa toison intime que Thérèse exhibait aussi ostensiblement aux yeux du promeneur !

     Nonetheless, I had a strange feeling that it was her pubic hair Theresa was displaying so publicly to the eyes of the passers-by!

4. (slang) the hair of a man's torso
   • 2000, Philippe Delaroche, Caïn et Abel avaient un frère, page 403:

     Abondante, sa toison pileuse bouffe jusqu’à mi-cou, faisant comme un col roulé.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• Toison d’or

Related terms

• tondre

Further reading

• “toison”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• ôtions