dénouement
UK /deˈnuːmɑ̃/ · US /ˌdeɪ.nuˈmɑnt/ noun
Forms dénouements dénoûment
- noun (narratology) The conclusion or resolution of a plot; unravelling.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French dénouement (“resolution”, literally “unknotting”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The unraveling or discovery of a plot; the catastrophe, especially of a drama or a romance.
- noun The solution of a mystery; issue; outcome.
Etymology [F. dénouement, fr. dénouer to untie; pref. dé- (L. dis-) + nouer to tie, fr. L. nodus knot, perh. for gnodus and akin to E. knot.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dénouement”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details