English

Noun

noyer ‎(plural noyers)

1. (obsolete) An annoyer.
   • Thomas Tusser

     The North is a noyer to grass of all suites, / The East a destroyer to herb and all fruits.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nwa.je/

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin nucārius from Classical Latin nux. Compare Spanish noguera, Portuguese nogueira, Catalan noguera, Occitan noguièr.

Noun

noyer m ‎(plural noyers)

1. walnut (tree)

Related terms

• noix (walnut, the nut)

Etymology 2

From Old French noier, from Latin necāre, present active infinitive of necō ‎(“kill”). The sense of "to drown" can be found in other Romance cognates; compare Italian annegare, Spanish anegar, Romanian îneca.

Verb

noyer

1. (transitive) To drown

   J'ai noyé mon chien dans le fleuve.

   I drowned my dog in the river.

2. (cooking) To water down

   Il faut noyer le vin avec de l'eau.

   You must water down the wine.

se noyer

1. (reflexive) To drown; to drown oneself

   Elle s'est noyée dans l'océan.

   She drowned in the ocean.

Conjugation

This verb is part of a large group of -er verbs that conjugate like employer or ennuyer. These verbs always replace the ‘y’ with an ‘i’ before a silent ‘e’.