sou

«sou» in Mova's school dictionary: A sou was an old French coin of very little value — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a sou, sous) — French

meaning for a pupil

1) (French, old money) A sou was an old French coin of very little value. tree →

2) (idiom, old-fashioned) Not a sou means no money at all, as in he hasn't a sou. tree →

3) (French) Sous (said soo) also means under in French, as in sous-chef, the cook under the head chef. tree →

sense in the lessons

In history and old stories, people are poor without a sou to their name. In French lessons, sous means under, and sou means a small coin; both sound like the English word sue. In cooking, a sous-chef is the second chef in a kitchen. It is not an everyday English word.

examples

• He was so poor he didn't have a sou. tree →
• The old woman counted her few sous. tree →
• In the story, the beggar asked for a sou. tree →
• A sou was worth very little. tree →
• A sous-chef helps the head chef. tree →
• Sous la table means under the table. (French) tree →

note

Said soo, like sue. Plural: sous (also said soo). Mostly found in old books and set phrases. It comes from French, not English.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sou» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.