double entendre
English
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double entendre
- /dubl ɑ̃tɑ̃ːdɹə/ UK
- /dʌbəl ɒnˈtɒndɹə/ Anglicised, UK
- /dʌbəl ɑnˈtɑndrə/ US, cot caught merger
Where it comes from
According to Merriam-Webster and OED, from rare and obsolete French double entendre, which literally meant "double meaning" and was used in the senses of "double understanding" or "ambiguity", but acquired its current suggestive twist after being first used in English in 1673 by John Dryden. From French double (“double”) + entendre (“to understand, to mean”). The phrase has not been used in French for centuries and would be ungrammatical in modern French, therefore making it a pseudo-Gallicism. The closest modern equivalents are double sens, which often has (but not always) the suggestiveness of the English expression, and sous-entendu which implies a subtext.
noun double entendres · doubles entendres · double entendre
- A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo. Avoid all equivocal expressions, usually denominated double entendre; they are certain proofs of a mean and indelicate mind.
Translations
Every language
noun phrase with two meanings
| Español | doble sentido, albur |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ダブル・ミーニング daburu mīningu |
| 中文 | 雙關語 /双关语 shuāngguānyǔ |
| Português | duplo sentido |
| Français | double sens, équivoque, sous-entendu |
| Deutsch | Doppeldeutigkeit, Zweideutigkeit |
| Italiano | doppio senso |
| Русский | двусмы́сленность dvusmýslennostʹ |
| العربية | تَوْرِيَة tawriya |
Talk about this word "double entendre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/double%20entendre. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. double entendre. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/double%20entendre "double entendre." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/double%20entendre.Cite this
@misc{double_entendre_2026,
title = {double entendre},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/double%20entendre},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
