flotter
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French flotter, from Old French floter (“to float”), from Frankish *flotōn (“to float, swim”), from Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float, swim”), from Proto-Indo-European *plew-, *plōw- (“to flow, swim”). Cognate with Middle Dutch vlōten (“to float, swim”), Old English flotian (“to float”), Old Norse flota (“to float, launch”). More at English float.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /flɔ.te/
Audio: (file)
Verb
flotter
- (intransitive) to float
- to flutter, to wave
- (informal) to mill about
Conjugation
Conjugation of flotter (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | flotter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | flottant /flɔ.tɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | flotté /flɔ.te/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | flotte /flɔt/ |
flottes /flɔt/ |
flotte /flɔt/ |
flottons /flɔ.tɔ̃/ |
flottez /flɔ.te/ |
flottent /flɔt/ |
| imperfect | flottais /flɔ.tɛ/ |
flottais /flɔ.tɛ/ |
flottait /flɔ.tɛ/ |
flottions /flɔ.tjɔ̃/ |
flottiez /flɔ.tje/ |
flottaient /flɔ.tɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | flottai /flɔ.te/ |
flottas /flɔ.ta/ |
flotta /flɔ.ta/ |
flottâmes /flɔ.tam/ |
flottâtes /flɔ.tat/ |
flottèrent /flɔ.tɛʁ/ | |
| future | flotterai /flɔ.tʁe/ |
flotteras /flɔ.tʁa/ |
flottera /flɔ.tʁa/ |
flotterons /flɔ.tʁɔ̃/ |
flotterez /flɔ.tʁe/ |
flotteront /flɔ.tʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | flotterais /flɔ.tʁɛ/ |
flotterais /flɔ.tʁɛ/ |
flotterait /flɔ.tʁɛ/ |
flotterions /flɔ.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
flotteriez /flɔ.tə.ʁje/ |
flotteraient /flɔ.tʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | flotte /flɔt/ |
flottes /flɔt/ |
flotte /flɔt/ |
flottions /flɔ.tjɔ̃/ |
flottiez /flɔ.tje/ |
flottent /flɔt/ |
| imperfect2 | flottasse /flɔ.tas/ |
flottasses /flɔ.tas/ |
flottât /flɔ.ta/ |
flottassions /flɔ.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
flottassiez /flɔ.ta.sje/ |
flottassent /flɔ.tas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | flotte /flɔt/ |
— | flottons /flɔ.tɔ̃/ |
flottez /flɔ.te/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Related terms
Descendants
Further reading
- “flotter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Adjective
flotter
- comparative degree of flott
Adjective
flotter
- inflection of flott:
- strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
- strong genitive/dative feminine singular
- strong genitive plural
Luxembourgish
Adjective
flotter
- feminine dative of flott
Middle French
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old French floter.
Verb
flotter
- to float
Conjugation
- Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.
Conjugation of flotter
| infinitive | simple | flotter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle1 or gerund2 | simple | flottant | |||||
| compound | present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | flotté | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | ie (i’) | tu | il, elle | nous | vous | ilz, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | flotte | flottes | flotte | flottons | flottez | flottent |
| imperfect | flottois, flottoys | flottois, flottoys | flottoit, flottoyt | flottions, flottyons | flottiez, flottyez | flottoient, flottoyent | |
| past historic | flotta | flottas | flotta | flottasmes | flottastes | flotterent | |
| future | flotterai, flotteray | flotteras | flottera | flotterons | flotterez | flotteront | |
| conditional | flotterois, flotteroys | flotterois, flotteroys | flotteroit, flotteroyt | flotterions, flotteryons | flotteriez, flotteryez | flotteroient, flotteroyent | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que ie (i’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ilz, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | flotte | flottes | flotte | flottons | flottez | flottent |
| imperfect | flottasse | flottasses | flottast | flottassions | flottassiez | flottassent | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | flotte | — | flottons | flottez | — | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The present participle was variable in gender and number until the 17th century (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], Une esthétique nouvelle: Honoré d'Urfé, correcteur de l'Astrée, p. 179). The French Academy would eventually declare it not to be declined in 1679. | |||||||
| 2 The gerund was held to be invariable by grammarians of the early 17th century, and was usable with preposition en, as in Modern French, although the preposition was not mandatory (Anne Sancier-Château [1995], op. cit., p. 180). | |||||||
Descendants
- French: flotter