douce

American  

[doos] / dus /

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. sedate; modest; quiet.

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douce British  

/ duːs /

adjective

1. dialect quiet; sober; sedate

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Other Word Forms

• doucely adverb
• douceness noun

Etymology

Origin of douce

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French (feminine) < Latin dulcis sweet; dulcet

Example Sentences

Manguillier got into the tourism business in 1978, at first ferrying souvenir dealers to Île aux Cerfs, a small island near his home in Trou d’Eau Douce.

From The Wall Street Journal

Douce argued that morale among staff at the parks — a string of 63 federally protected natural wonders often described as “America’s best idea” — has never been lower.

From Los Angeles Times

“The enduring popularity of America’s national parks is not surprising,” Douce added.

From Los Angeles Times

The snappy translation is deftly tailored to the music of the opera’s many famous earworm arias: Manon’s gavotte, “Profitons bien de la jeunesse,” becomes “Let me sparkle brightly while I may”; the Chevalier’s despairing “Ah! fuyez, douce image” is “Go away, dreams of love.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Liberation correspondent Agnes Faivre and Sophie Douce, a French correspondent for French newspaper Le Monde, were expelled and given 24 hours to leave the country with no explanation.

From Seattle Times