la fourchette
fork
Definition & meaning
Fourchette is a feminine French noun: une fourchette.
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Fork: a table utensil with a handle and several pointed prongs, used for eating.
- Je mange avec une fourchette. — “I eat with a fork.”
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Range, bracket, or approximate interval: the limits between which a value is expected to fall, especially a price, salary, quantity, or time.
- Une fourchette de prix — “a price range”
- La fourchette est comprise entre 20 et 30 euros. — “The range is between 20 and 30 euros.”
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Fork-shaped division or bifurcation: something that divides into two or more branches, such as a road, path, or mechanical part.
- Une fourchette sur une route can refer to a fork or branching point.
Grammar & Word origin
- Gender: feminine
- Singular: une fourchette
- Plural: des fourchettes
- Pronunciation: approximately /fuʁ.ʃɛt/
The word comes from fourche , meaning “fork” or “pitchfork,” with the diminutive suffix -ette . Its deeper origin is Latin furca, meaning “fork” or “bifurcated object.”
Synonyms & antonyms
Meaning “fork”
- fourche : a fork-shaped tool, generally larger or less specifically intended for eating than a fourchette.
- ustensile à dents : a descriptive expression meaning “pronged utensil,” rather than a usual everyday synonym.
There is no exact antonym for fourchette in this sense. Other table utensils, such as cuillère (“spoon”) or couteau (“knife”), are related objects but not antonyms.
Meaning “range”
- intervalle : a general term for the space between two limits.
- plage : often used for a permitted or possible range, especially of values.
- fourchette de valeurs : a range of values.
Unlike fourchette, précision (“precision”) emphasizes an exact figure rather than an approximate range. Valeur exacte (“exact value”) can function as a contextual opposite.
Common phrases & collocations
- une fourchette de prix — a price range
- une fourchette de salaire — a salary range
- une fourchette de dates — a date range
- une fourchette de valeurs — a range of values
- manger avec une fourchette — to eat with a fork
- prendre une fourchette — to take a fork
- une fourchette basse — the lower end of a range
- une fourchette haute — the upper end of a range
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Examples
Les fourchettes sont sur la table.noun
The forks are on the table.
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