fier-à-bras

\fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\

/\fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Fanfaron qui fait le brave ; matamore.

Corpus desk

Index FR-fier-a-bras · fier-à-bras · French

fier-à-bras · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for fier-à-bras
PropertyValue
Headwordfier-à-bras
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « fier-à-bras » en français

fier-à-brasreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

fier-à-bras is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Fanfaron qui fait le brave ; matamore.".

fier-à-bras has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is fier-à-bras, spelled F-I-E-R---À---B-R-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fanfaron qui fait le brave ; matamore.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fier-à-bras appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Quand on voudra citer un hâbleur, un vantard, un belître, incapable de modérer sa langue, un fier-à-bras qui menace s'avaler le monde, on parlera d'Adhémar de Trémazenc de Capestang !
  2. Un noble avait fait rosser Voltaire et je serais cravaché, peut-être, par un capitaine, ancien fier-à-bras de jardin public.

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 "fier-à-bras"?
"fier-à-bras" is spelled F-I-E-R---À---B-R-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\.
What does "fier-à-bras" mean?
As a noun, "fier-à-bras" means: Fanfaron qui fait le brave ; matamore.
How do you pronounce "fier-à-bras"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fier-à-bras" is \fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fier-à-bras" come from?
"fier-à-bras" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list