beaucoup - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• boku, boocoo, bookoo, buku

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from French beaucoup. Popularized by the American GIs during the Vietnam War.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /boʊˈkuː/, /ˈbu.ku/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Determiner[edit]

beaucoup

1. (US, informal) Much, many, a lot of.

   You know that cost beaucoup bucks!

   See Also

   What to wear in Vietnam | Intrepid TravelHow to piss off a person from VietnamGlossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War A-Chôn - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

   • 1925, John Dos Passos, Manhattan Transfer, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, 3rd section, page 282:

     “I bet the skipper’s been drinkin^[sic] beaucoup highballs an^[sic] thinks Brooklyn’s Hoboken.”

   • 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 93:

     Donlon says, "Well, we're rich and we got beaucoup beer and beaucoup chow. Now all we need is the Bob Hope show."

     See Also

     Swearing: preschoolers

   • 1987 November 2, Michael Halperin, w:Dorothy Catherine Fontana, “Lonely Among Us”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 1, episode 7, spoken by Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), production code 108:

     Then he'd have to be relieved of command. Which you could do, Doctor, but it's beaucoup trouble if you're wrong.

Noun[edit]

beaucoup (plural beaucoups)

1. An abundance.

   • 1970, “Beaucoups of Blues”, in Buzz Rabin (lyrics), Beaucoups of Blues‎^[1], performed by Ringo Starr:

     Alongside the road with holes in my soul and my shoes / And beaucoups of blues

Adverb[edit]

beaucoup (not comparable)

1. In abundance.

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Old French biau cop, first attested circa 1210.^[1] Equivalent to beau (“nice, beautiful”) +‎ coup (“hit, strike”). The latter word also means “helping of soup or beverage”, first attested circa 1375, whose sense may have triggered or reinforced beaucoup to mean “a lot”.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /bo.ku/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -u

Adverb[edit]

beaucoup

1. much, very much, a lot

   Merci beaucoup! ― Thank you very much!

   Je mange beaucoup. ― I eat a lot.

Related terms[edit]

• beau, belle

Descendants[edit]

• Louisiana Creole: boucou
• Mauritian Creole: boukou
• → English: beaucoup, boku, boocoo, bookoo, buku
• → Nigerian Pidgin: boku

See also[edit]

• plus
• autant
• moins

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• “beaucoup”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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