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gué

ford (shallow river crossing)

noun GEH Rare

Origin: Old French gué, from Frankish *wad

Usage Note

Gué appears in the set phrase passer à gué, meaning to wade or ford a river. It is common in place names across France (e.g. Le Gué-de-la-Chaîne). The phrase tâter le gué figuratively means to test the waters before committing to something.

Examples

"Les soldats traversèrent la rivière à gué."

Natural Translation

The soldiers crossed the river at the ford.

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