esquisse
French, noun
esquisse is spelled E-S-Q-U-I-S-S-E (8 letters) and appears 2.3 times per million words in written French, the 18,679th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Esquisse is a French feminine noun meaning “sketch (quick freehand drawing)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of esquisser. With an accent, esquissé is a different word: “past participle of esquisser”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Premier trait d’un dessin ; ébauche, essai en petit d’un ouvrage de peinture, de sculpture ou d’architecture”.
What does esquisse mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininesketch (quick freehand drawing)
- 2
femininesketch (brief description)
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of esquisser
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Premier trait d’un dessin ; ébauche, essai en petit d’un ouvrage de peinture, de sculpture ou d’architecture. 2. Premier jet ou première mouture d’un ouvrage de l’esprit. 3. Description sommaire. 4. Début, à peine visible, d'une action.
adjective: 1. Qui vient juste d’être commencé, et qui est encore à l’état d’esquisse.
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 esquisse
- esquisses plural
- esquissée feminine
- esquissés masculine plural
- esquissées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to esquisse
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is esquisse in French?
esquisse appears 2.3 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).