different between sparkling vs mousseux

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?sp??kl???/, /?sp??kl??/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?sp??kl???/, /?sp??kl??/
• Hyphenation: spark?ling

Verb

sparkling

1. Present participle and gerund of sparkle.

Adjective

sparkling (not comparable)

1. Of an object, reflecting light as if giving off tiny sparks.
2. Of a beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage, containing dissolved carbon dioxide (either naturally or that has been added) that comes out of solution in the form of many tiny bubbles.
3. (figuratively) Brilliant and vivacious.

Synonyms

• (of an object, reflecting light): glistening, twinkling
• (of a beverage): fizzy, carbonated; see also Thesaurus:effervescent

Antonyms

• (of a beverage): noncarbonated, still; see also Thesaurus:noneffervescent

Translations

Noun

sparkling (plural sparklings)

1. Act or appearance of something that sparkles; a sparkle; a gleam.
   • 1820, Nathaniel John Hollingsworth, The Renegade and Other Poems, "Song"

     Bright are the sparklings that beam from the dew.

2. A sparkling wine.
   • 2011, Michael Cooper, 100 Must-try New Zealand Wines (page 208)

     Wines like this struggle to stand out on the show circuit, where the judges are more likely to be searching for sparklings designed in the classic Champagne mould.

English

Etymology

From French mousseux.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mu??s??/

Adjective

mousseux (comparative more mousseux, superlative most mousseux)

1. Of wine: sparkling.

Noun

mousseux (plural mousseux)

1. A sparkling wine.
   • 1970, John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse, New York 2007, p. 70:

     We sat down at a corner table and ordered a bottle of iced mousseux.

French

Etymology

From mousse +? -eux

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu.sø/

Adjective

mousseux (feminine singular mousseuse, masculine plural mousseux, feminine plural mousseuses)

1. foamy; frothy
2. (wine) sparkling

Noun

mousseux m (plural mousseux)

1. Ellipsis of vin mousseux; sparkling wine

Further reading

• “mousseux” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).