houspiller

Alternative forms

• gouspiller (Norman)

Etymology

From Middle French houssepillier (“to mistreat by shaking or growling”) and Norman gouspiller (“to shake, thrash, ill-treat”), both from a root *housp-, *gousp- (“to scorn, scold, reproach”), from or akin to Old English hospan, ġehyspan (“to deride, scorn, mock, reproach”) (—Diez), or from Proto-Germanic *husp-, *hūsk-, from Proto-Indo-European *kūd- (“to mock”). Related to Old English hūsc (“mockery, scorn, insult, derision”), Old High German hosc (“invective, censure, mockery, travesty”), Norwegian dialectal huta (“to shout at, treat contemptuously”). Related to English forhush.

Pronunciation

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /us.pi.je/

Verb

houspiller

1. to chide or scold someone harshly, usually accompanied by pulling and shaking, berate.
2. to criticise
3. to rebuke, reprehend
4. to mistreat, torment, mob; to cause worry or distress

Further reading

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