ricochet

Etymology

From French ricochet.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɪkəʃeɪ/, /ˈɹɪkəʃɛt/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Noun

ricochet (plural ricochets)

1. (military) A method of firing a projectile so that it skips along a surface.
2. An instance of ricocheting; a glancing rebound.

Verb

ricochet (third-person singular simple present ricochets, present participle ricocheting or ricochetting, simple past and past participle ricocheted or ricochetted)

1. To rebound off something wildly in a seemingly random direction.
2. (military) To operate upon by ricochet firing.

Etymology

Origin uncertain.

• The word first appears in the phrases chanson du/de riochet, fable du ricochet. This is apparently related to other story-titles such as the fable du rouge kokelet; other dialectal terms such as ripoton (“duckling”) and Norman recoquet (“chick”) has led to theories that the word originally indicated a "young cock". The sense-development is unclear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁikɔʃɛ/

Noun

ricochet m (plural ricochets)

1. rebound; ricochet

Further reading

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