bougie

UK: /ˈbuːʒiː/, /buːˈʒiː/ US: (bo̅o̅′jē, -zhē, bo̅o̅ zhē′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bou•gie  (bo̅o̅′jē, -zhē, bo̅o̅ zhē′), n. 

1. Medicine
   • a slender, flexible instrument introduced into passages of the body, esp. the urethra, for dilating, examining, medicating, etc.
   • a suppository.
2. a wax candle.

• Arabic Bujāyah), town in Algeria, center of the wax trade
• French, after Bougie (
• 1745–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bougie / ˈbuːʒiː buːˈʒiː/ noun

1. a long slender semiflexible cylindrical instrument for inserting into body passages, such as the rectum or urethra, to dilate structures, introduce medication, etc

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, originally a wax candle from Bougie (Bujiya), Algeria

bougie / ˈbuːʒɪ/ adjective

having bourgeois tastes and attitudes

noun

a bourgeois person

Etymology: C21: shortened from bourgeois