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poi·lu

(pwä-lü)

n.
Slang

A French soldier, especially in World War I.

[French, hairy, tough, poilu, from Old French pelu, hairy, from Vulgar Latin *pilūtus, from Latin pilus, hair.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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