grêle
French, noun
grêle is spelled G-R-Ê-L-E (5 letters) and appears 3.2 times per million words in written French, the 15,113th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Grêle is a French feminine noun meaning “hail” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of grêler. With an accent, grêlé is a different word: “past participle of grêler”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Pluie qui tombe sous forme de grains de glace”.
What does grêle mean in English?
adjective
- 1
spindly, lanky
intestin grêle
noun
- 1
femininehail
verb
- 1
rarefirst-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of grêler
- 2
third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of grêler
verb
- 1
past participle of grêler
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui a beaucoup de marques de petite vérole ou d'une autre maladie créant des cavités sur la peau. 2. Marqué de taches de rousseur. 3. Grillé.
adjective: 1. Long et menu. 2. Qualifie des organes minces et longs. 3. Chétif, non suffisamment plein ou développé. 4. Se dit d’une voix, d’un son aigu et faible.
noun: 1. Pluie qui tombe sous forme de grains de glace. 2. Chute dense et fournie de divers projectiles. 3. Série de coups assénés violemment.
noun: 1. Intestin grêle. 2. Petit cor de chasse 3. Lame d’acier plate et dentelée, dont le tabletier se sert pour grêler. 4. Écouane dont les tourneurs se servent.
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 grêle
- grêles plural
- grêlée feminine
- grêlés masculine plural
- grêlées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to grêle
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is grêle in French?
grêle appears 3.2 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).