bêche-de-mer
[ besh-duh-mair, beysh- ]
noun,plural bêch·es-de-mer, (especially collectively) bêche-de-mer for 1.
a trepang.
Often Bêche-de-Mer. Neo-Melanesian.
Origin of bêche-de-mer
11805–15; erroneously for French biche de mer<Portuguese bicho do mar literally, animal of the sea; cf. Beach-la-Mar
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British Dictionary definitions for bêche-de-mer
bêche-de-mer
/ (ˌbɛʃdəˈmɛə) /
Origin of bêche-de-mer
1C19: quasi-French, from earlier English biche de mer, from Portuguese bicho do mar worm of the sea
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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