bouc émissaire

\bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\

/\bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“bouc émissaire” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bouc que l’on chassait dans le désert, après l’avoir chargé des malédictions que l’on voulait détourner du peuple.

Key facts for bouc émissaire
PropertyValue
Headwordbouc émissaire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bouc émissaire” sits in French frequency

bouc émissaire falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bouc émissaire is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for bouc émissaire in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is bouc émissaire, spelled B-O-U-C- -É-M-I-S-S-A-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bouc que l’on chassait dans le désert, après l’avoir chargé des malédictions que l’on voulait détourner du peuple.
  2. 2
    Personne sur laquelle on fait retomber les torts des autres, victime expiatoire.

This word in other languages

scapegoat(English)chivo expiatorio(Español)Sündenbock(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bouc émissaire"?
"bouc émissaire" is spelled B-O-U-C- -É-M-I-S-S-A-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\.
What does "bouc émissaire" mean?
As a noun, "bouc émissaire" means: Bouc que l’on chassait dans le désert, après l’avoir chargé des malédictions que l’on voulait détourner du peuple.
How do you pronounce "bouc émissaire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bouc émissaire" is \bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bouc émissaire" come from?
"bouc émissaire" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bouc émissaire”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-C- -É-M-I-S-S-A-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bu.k‿e.mi.sɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list