estouffer

Middle French

Etymology

Probably from Germanic, akin to Old High German stopfon (“to stop up”), probably ultimately from Medieval Latin stuppare (“to clog up with tow”), from stuppa (“tow”).

Verb

estouffer

1. to choke (prevent from breathing)
2. (figuratively) to strangle (inhibit, prevent)

Conjugation

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of estouffer

infinitive	simple	estouffer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle1 or gerund2	simple	estouffant
	compound	present participle or gerund of avoir + past participle
past participle		estouffé
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ie (i’)	tu	il, elle	nous	vous	ilz, elles
(simple tenses)	present	estouffe	estouffes	estouffe	estouffons	estouffez	estouffent
	imperfect	estouffois, estouffoys	estouffois, estouffoys	estouffoit, estouffoyt	estouffions, estouffyons	estouffiez, estouffyez	estouffoient, estouffoyent
	past historic	estouffa	estouffas	estouffa	estouffasmes	estouffastes	estoufferent
	future	estoufferai, estoufferay	estoufferas	estouffera	estoufferons	estoufferez	estoufferont
	conditional	estoufferois, estoufferoys	estoufferois, estoufferoys	estoufferoit, estoufferoyt	estoufferions, estoufferyons	estoufferiez, estoufferyez	estoufferoient, estoufferoyent
(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	estouffe	estouffes	estouffe	estouffons	estouffez	estouffent
	imperfect	estouffasse	estouffasses	estouffast	estouffassions	estouffassiez	estouffassent
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	estouffe	—	estouffons	estouffez	—
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: étouffer