boudoir

Borrowed from French boudoir, from bouder (“to sulk”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /buˈdwɑɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbuːdwɑː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)

boudoir (plural boudoirs)

1. A woman's private sitting room, dressing room, or bedroom.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 118:

     The Duchesse's boudoir was fitted up in a style of luxury utterly different from anything before familiar to the Carraras.

   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

     I found her in her boudoir getting outside a dish of tea and a crumpet.

Strictly refers only to a woman’s room, but sometimes used informally or humorously by men to refer to their inner sanctum.[1]

• cabinet, study (male equivalent)

• withdrawing room, drawing room

bouder +‎ -oir

• IPA^(key): /bu.dwaʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -waʁ

boudoir m (plural boudoirs)

1. boudoir
2. sponge, ladyfinger

• “boudoir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.