Skip to content

outre

goatskin water bag, wineskin

noun OO-tr Rare
Food & Drink Utensils

Origin: Latin 'uter' (leather bag)

Usage Note

Outre as a noun refers to a traditional animal-skin vessel for carrying water or wine, now mainly encountered in literary, historical, or North African contexts. It is not to be confused with the preposition/adjective outre (beyond, extreme) or the prefix outre- (trans-). The feminine plural is outres. The expression boire comme une outre (to drink like a fish) is a vivid idiom.

Examples

"Les nomades transportaient l'eau dans des outres en cuir."

Natural Translation

The nomads carried water in leather wineskins.

Explore French by topic