noyau

core, nucleus

noun nwah-YOH Rare

Also means

stone (of fruit)

Usage Note

noyau takes the irregular plural noyaux. In science it means the nucleus of an atom or cell; in everyday speech it refers to the hard pit of a peach or cherry; figuratively it describes the inner core of a group or movement. The related verb noyer means 'to drown', but the two are not etymologically connected.

Examples

"Le noyau de la cellule contient l'ADN."

Natural Translation

The cell nucleus contains DNA.

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