nouns ending in “-ard”
French nouns ending in “-ard” are not common, but they are useful. The suffix usually turns a verb into a noun for a person. Often, this person is defined by a habit, and the word carries a negative tone. It can describe someone who does something too much or in an annoying way.
The ending comes from Latin, but in modern French it is not used to make new words. Almost all the words that exist are old and fixed. Some nouns ending in “-and” come from other languages, like Italian or Spanish, and do not follow this rule.
Here is a full list of French nouns ending in “-and.” For each one, the root verb is shown if it exists.
nouns for people (from verbs)
These are made from a verb. The suffix “-and” changes the action into the person who does it.
- le bavard (from bavarder, to chat) – the chatterbox, a talkative person
- le chauffard (from chauffer, to drive) – the reckless driver, a road hog
- le criard (from crier, to shout) – the shrill person, a screamer
- le fêtard (from fêter, to party) – the party animal, a reveler
- le flânard (from flâner, to stroll) – the loafer, an idler
- le grognard (from grognier, to grunt/grumble) – the grumbler, a grouch
- le pleurard (from pleurer, to cry) – the crybaby, a whiner
- le routard (from router, to travel the roads) – the backpacker, the seasoned traveler
- le traînard (from traîner, to drag/lag) – the straggler, a slowpoke
nouns for people (other origins)
These also describe people, but they are not clearly built from a French verb. They still often have a casual or negative feel.
- le campagnard – the country dweller (from campagne, countryside)
- le connard (from con, idiot) – the bastard, the asshole (very vulgar)
- le cornard – the cuckold (from corne, horn)
- le montagnard – the mountain dweller, a highlander (from montagne, mountain)
- le motard – the motorcyclist (from moto, motorcycle)
- le pignard – the anus (vulgar slang)
- le prétentard – a pretentious person (slang, from prétentieux)
- le richard – the rich person, a fat cat (from riche, rich)
- le soudard – the rough soldier, an old mercenary (from solde, pay)
- le thesard – the doctoral student, someone writing a thesis (from thèse, thesis)
- le zagard – a ZAD activist, an occupier (from ZAD, zone to defend)
summary
Most French nouns ending in -and are masculine and refer to a type of person. They often come from a verb and usually have a negative or informal meaning.
