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 May 6, 2026) - Fanfaron qui fait le brave ; matamore.

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)

Where “fier-à-bras” sits in French frequency

fier-à-bras 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

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.

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.

Using “fier-à-bras”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is F-I-E-R---À---B-R-A-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fjɛ.ʁa.bʁa\ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list