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corvée

chore

noun kor-VEH Rare

Also means

drudgery

Usage Note

Corvée originally meant compulsory unpaid labour owed by serfs to their lord under the Ancien Régime; today it means any tiresome duty or household chore. The expression quelle corvée ! ('what a drag!') is very common in everyday speech. The plural les corvées ménagères refers to domestic chores.

Examples

"Faire la vaisselle est une vraie corvée."

Natural Translation

Washing the dishes is a real chore.

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