noun, masculine/e.kœj/plural: écueils
reef, shelf, skerry; pitfall, stumbling block
“Le capitaine Baker se crut, tout d'abord, en présence d'un écueil inconnu” — Captain Baker at first thought he was in the presence of an unknown reef
Synonyms: récif, pierre d'achoppement
Inherited from Middle French escueil, borrowed from Old Occitan escueyll, from Vulgar Latin *scoculum, from Latin scopulus, from Ancient Greek. Cognate with Italian scoglio.