chauvir

A rare, grammatically famous defective verb — used almost only in the fixed expression chauvir des oreilles, describing a horse, donkey, or mule pricking up its ears. It survives in French grammar books as a textbook example of a defective verb (one missing several of its conjugated forms) more than in real speech.

• Le cheval chauvit des oreilles au moindre bruit. — The horse pricks up its ears at the slightest noise.
• Effrayée, la mule chauvissait sans cesse. — Startled, the mule kept pricking up its ears.
• On dit qu'un âne chauvit dès qu'il entend son maître. — It's said a donkey pricks up its ears as soon as it hears its master.

Don't expect a full conjugation table for chauvir — it's a defective verb, missing most tenses and persons in standard usage, which is exactly why grammarians cite it; you won't need most of its forms in practice.