matraque
truncheon, baton
noun mah-TRAK Rare
Origin: from Arabic mitraq, 'hammer'
Usage Note
Matraque refers to a police baton or billy club. The derived verb matraquer means both 'to bludgeon' and figuratively 'to bombard' (e.g., matraquer le public de publicités — to bombard the public with ads). The figurative sense is very common in media criticism in French.
Examples
"Le policier tenait sa matraque à la main."
Natural Translation
The police officer held his baton in his hand.
Related Words
Explore French by topic
FrenchNow
7 min read
FrenchNow
6 min read