Word of the Day

: October 21, 2006

debouch

verb dih-BOUTCH

What It Means

1 : to cause to emerge : discharge

2 : to march out into open ground : emerge, issue

debouch in Context

At their commander's signal, the soldiers debouched from the jungle into the dangerous open terrain.

Did You Know?

"Debouch" first appeared in English in the 18th century. It derives from a French verb formed from the prefix "de-" ("from") and the noun "bouche" ("mouth"), which itself derives ultimately from the Latin "bucca" ("cheek"). "Debouch" is often used in military contexts to refer to the action of troops proceeding from a closed space to an open one. It is also used frequently to refer to the emergence of anything from a mouth, such as water passing through the mouth of a river into an ocean. The word's ancestors have also given us the adjective "buccal" ("of or relating to the mouth") and the noun "embouchure" (the mouthpiece of a musical instrument or the position of the mouth when playing one).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.