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bottin

phone directory

noun boh-TEHN Rare
Communication Writing

Usage Note

Bottin is a genericised trademark — it comes from Sébastien Bottin, who published the first French commercial directory in the 19th century. Today it informally means any phone book or business directory, even though most French people use the online PagesJaunes. The plural is bottins.

Examples

"Son numéro est dans le bottin."

Natural Translation

His number is in the phone book.

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