épine
French, noun
épine is spelled É-P-I-N-E (5 letters) and appears 2.1 times per million words in written French, the 20,080th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Épine is a French feminine noun meaning “thorn; spine; prickle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of épiner. With an accent, épiné is a different word: “past participle of épiner”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Branche, feuille, stipule ou partie de feuille transformée en un organe allongé et piquant ; par opposition à…”.
What does épine mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininethorn; spine; prickle
- 2
femininean aperitif made from blackthorn berries
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of épiner
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Branche, feuille, stipule ou partie de feuille transformée en un organe allongé et piquant ; par opposition à l’aiguillon. 2. Piquant que l’on trouve sur une plante indifféremment de son origine tissulaire. 3. Espèce d’arbre ou d’arbrisseau dont les branches ont des piquants. 4. Piquants de châtaignes, de poires, etc.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of épine
- épines plural
- épinée feminine
- épinés masculine plural
- épinées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to épine
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is épine in French?
épine appears 2.1 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).