What does bourdon in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word bourdon in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use bourdon in French.

The word bourdon in French means bumblebee, be down in the dumps, have the blues, drone, tenor bell, great bell, embroidery, satin stitch, staff, lance, be down in the dumps, get down, drone, faux-bourdon, be a real downer. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word bourdon

bumblebee

nom masculin (grosse abeille) (insect)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le bourdon est gros, velu, jaune et noir.
The bumblebee is fat, fuzzy, yellow and black.

be down in the dumps, have the blues

nom masculin (familier (mélancolie, cafard) (informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il n'est pas très gai aujourd'hui, il a le bourdon, je crois.
He's not very cheerful today; I think he's down in the dumps.

drone

nom masculin (ton formant une basse continue) (sound)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

tenor bell, great bell

nom masculin (grosse cloche)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le bourdon de l'église vient d'être restauré.
The church's tenor (or: great) bell has just been restored.

embroidery, satin stitch

nom masculin (couture ganse)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Ce bourdon fuchsia relève les coutures de sa robe rose.
Fuschia embroidery (or: satin stitch) adorns the seams of her pink dress.

staff

nom masculin (bâton de pèlerin) (stick)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les pèlerins sur le chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle portent souvent un bourdon.
ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. Pilgrims on the Camino often carry a staff.

lance

nom masculin (vieilli (grosse lance)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les chevaliers étaient équipés de bourdons pour les joutes.
Knights were equipped with lances for jousting.

be down in the dumps

locution verbale (familier, figuré (être mélancolique)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Simon n'est pas très gai aujourd'hui, il a le bourdon, je crois.

get down

(familier (attrister) (informal)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")

drone

nom masculin (mâle de l'abeille)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Les faux-bourdons sont exclus des ruches.

faux-bourdon

nom masculin (Musique : chant à plusieurs voix)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le faux-bourdon est un chant d'église à trois voix.

be a real downer

locution verbale (familier (donner le cafard) (informal)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

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