mordre

Mordre is a French verb meaning to bite. It describes the action of using teeth to cut, grip, or seize something and can apply to animals, humans biting food, or metaphorical uses. It is transitive (mordre quelque chose) and can be used reflexively in phrases like se mordre les lèvres or se mordre les doigts.

Etymology and related forms: The verb comes from Latin mordere and entered French through Old French. It has cognates in other Romance languages, such as Italian mordere, Spanish morder, and Portuguese morder. The word also gives rise to related forms and nouns, such as morsure (a bite wound) and mordant, an adjective meaning biting or caustic.

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense, the verb forms are je mords, tu mords, il mord, nous mordons, vous mordez, ils mordent. The past participle is mordu, used with the auxiliary avoir to form the passé composé (par exemple, J'ai mordu la pomme). Other tenses follow regular -re verb patterns, with variations in the imperfect (je mordais), future (je mordrai), and conditional (je mordrais) forms. The verb can also appear in imperatives: mords, mordons, mordez.

Common usages and phrases: Mordre describes biting physical objects or beings, as in Le chien mord l’os or Elle mord dans une pomme. Expressions include se mordre les lèvres (to bite one’s lips) and se mordre les doigts (to regret not acting). Phrases like mordre à pleines dents convey biting force, while mordre à l’hameçon means to bite the bait. The term also yields the adjective mordant, meaning sharp or caustic in tone.