bâtiment

Etymology

From Middle French bastiment, from Old French bastiment (“act of building, fortification”), from bastir (“to build, make, sew”), from Frankish *bastjan (“to darn, weave, treat hemp threads”), from Proto-Germanic *bastijaną (“to bind with a thread, lace”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰas- (“to bind”). Cognate with Old High German besten (“to sew, weave, lace”), Old English bæst (“bast”); confer bastion. More at bast.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɑ.ti.mɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

bâtiment m (plural bâtiments)

1. building, edifice
2. (nautical) ship or boat
3. (nautical, military) warship

Further reading

• “bâtiment” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).