List of Foreign Words and Phrases PDF

List of Foreign Words and Phrases ab initio Latin from the beginning Italian sung without instrumental accompaniment (literally ‘in chapel a cappella style’) à deux French for or involving two people ad hoc...

List of Foreign Words and Phrases ab initio Latin from the beginning Italian sung without instrumental accompaniment (literally ‘in chapel a cappella style’) à deux French for or involving two people ad hoc Latin made or done for a particular purpose (literally ‘to this’) ad infinitum Latin endlessly; forever (literally ‘to infinity’) ad interim Latin for the meantime ad nauseam Latin to a tiresomely excessive degree (literally ‘to sickness’) a fortiori Latin more conclusively (literally ‘from a stronger [argument]’) agent French a person who tempts a suspected criminal to commit a crime so provocateur that they can be caught and convicted (literally ‘provocative agent’) à huis clos French in private (literally ‘with closed doors’) Italian (of food) cooked so as to be still firm when bitten (literally ‘to al dente the tooth’) alfresco Italian in the open air (literally ‘in the fresh’) amour propre French self-respect (literally ‘own love’) annus mirabilis Latin a remarkable or auspicious year Latin based on reasoning from known facts or past events rather than on a posteriori assumptions or predictions (literally ‘from what comes after’) Latin based on deduction rather than experience (literally ‘from what is a priori before’) au courant French well informed; up to date (literally ‘in the (regular) course’) au fait French having a good or detailed knowledge (literally ‘to the point’) au fond French basically; in essence (literally ‘at the bottom’) au naturel French in the most simple or natural way beau geste French a noble and generous act (literally ‘fine gesture’) beau idéal French the highest standard of excellence (literally ‘ideal beauty’) beau monde French fashionable society (literally ‘fine world’) beaux arts French the fine arts French a person or thing one particularly dislikes (literally ‘black bête noire beast’) belles-lettres French literary works written and read for their elegant style (literally  ‘fine letters’) billet-doux French a love letter (literally ‘sweet note’) German an intense, violent military campaign intended to bring about a blitzkrieg swift victory (literally ‘lightning war’) bona fide Latin genuine; real (literally ‘with good faith’) bon mot French a clever or witty remark (literally ‘good word’) French a person with a sociable and luxurious lifestyle (literally ‘person bon vivant living well’) brasserie French an informal or inexpensive restaurant (literally ‘brewery’) carpe diem Latin make the most of the present time (literally ‘seize the day!’) carte blanche French complete freedom to act as one wishes (literally ‘blank paper’) French a controversial issue attracting much public attention (literally cause célèbre ‘famous case’) Latin the buyer is responsible for checking the quality of goods before caveat emptor purchasing them (literally ‘let the buyer beware’) French used as an expression of resigned acceptance (literally ‘that's c’est la guerre war’) chacun à son French everyone to their own taste gout chef-d’œuvre French a masterpiece (literally ‘chief work’) cherchez la French there is certain to be a woman at the bottom of a problem or femme mystery (literally ‘look for the woman’) comme il faut French correct in behaviour or etiquette (literally ‘as is necessary’) compos mentis Latin sane; in full control of one's mind Italian people who are well informed about something (literally ‘people cognoscenti who know’) French a guarded line placed around an area infected by disease to cordon sanitaire prevent anyone from leaving (literally ‘sanitary line’) Italian a US criminal organization related to the Mafia (literally ‘our Cosa Nostra thing’) coup de foudre French love at first sight (literally ‘stroke of lightning’) French a blow by which a mortally wounded person or thing is coup de grâce mercifully killed (literally ‘stroke of grace’) coup de main French a sudden surprise attack (literally ‘stroke of hand’) coup d’état French a sudden violent seizure of power (literally ‘blow of state’) cri de cœur French a passionate appeal or protest (literally ‘cry from the heart’)  Latin who stands to gain? (implying that whoever does may have been cui bono? responsible for a crime; literally ‘to whom (is it) a benefit?’) de facto Latin in fact, whether by right or not Dei gratia Latin by the grace of God French the sense of having experienced the present situation before déjà vu (literally ‘already seen’) de jure Latin rightful; by right (literally ‘of law’) de nos jours French contemporary (literally ‘of our days’) Deo gratias Latin thanks be to God Deo volente Latin God willing de profundis Latin expressing one's deepest feelings (literally ‘from the depths’) French obligatory; required by etiquette or current fashion (literally ‘of de rigueur strictness’) dernier cri French the very latest fashion (literally ‘the last cry’) de trop French not wanted; superfluous (literally ‘excessive’) Latin an unexpected event that saves an apparently hopeless situation deus ex machina (literally ‘god from the machinery’) dolce far niente Italian pleasant idleness (literally ‘sweet doing nothing’) dolce vita Italian a life of pleasure and luxury (literally ‘sweet life’) German an apparition or double of a living person (literally ‘double- doppelgänger goer’) French a word or phrase with two possible interpretations (from double entendre obsolete French, ‘double understanding’) dramatis Latin the characters in a play (literally ‘persons of the drama’) personae embarras de French more options or resources than one knows what to do with richesse (literally ‘embarrassment of riches’) French a person who has power or influence without holding an official éminence grise position (literally ‘grey eminence’) en famille French with one's family; in an informal way (literally ‘in family’) French a person whose behaviour is unconventional or controversial enfant terrible (literally ‘terrible child’) en masse French all together (literally ‘in a mass’) en passant French by the way (literally ‘in passing’) entente cordiale French a friendly understanding between states entre nous French between ourselves  French a feeling of pride and loyalty uniting the members of a group esprit de corps (literally ‘spirit of body’) Latin (of payment) given as a favour rather than because of any legal ex gratia obligation (literally ‘from favour’) ex officio Latin by virtue of one's position or status (literally ‘out of duty’) French a thing that has been done or decided and cannot now be altered fait accompli (literally ‘accomplished fact’) faute de mieux French for want of a better alternative faux pas French an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion (literally ‘false step’) femme fatale French a seductive woman (literally ‘disastrous woman’) French an outdoor entertainment; a garden party (literally ‘rural fête champêtre festival’) fin de siècle French relating to the end of a century force majeure French superior strength folie de French delusions of grandeur grandeur gîte French a small furnished holiday house in France French a woman who is influential within a particular sphere (literally grande dame ‘grand lady’) French the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses haute couture (literally ‘high dressmaking’) haute cuisine French high-quality cooking (literally ‘high cookery’) haut monde French fashionable society (literally ‘high world’) hors de combat French out of action due to injury or damage (literally ‘out of the fight’) idée fixe' French an obsession (literally ‘fixed idea’) in absentia Latin while not present (literally ‘in absence’) in camera Latin in private (literally ‘in the chamber’) in extremis Latin in an extremely difficult situation; at the point of death in loco parentis Latin in the place of a parent in medias res Latin in or into the middle of things in propria Latin: in his or her own person persona in situ Latin in the original or appropriate position inter alia Latin among other things in toto Latin as a whole ipso facto Latin by that very fact or act je ne sais quoi French a quality that is hard to describe (literally ‘I do not know what’) jeu d’esprit French a light-hearted display of wit (literally ‘game of the mind’) jeunesse dorée French wealthy, fashionable young people (literally ‘gilded youth’) joie de vivre French exuberant enjoyment of life (literally ‘joy of living’) German a hangover or a severe headache accompanying a hangover katzenjammer (literally ‘cats’ wailing’) laissez-faire French a non-interventionist policy (literally ‘allow to do’) locum tenens Latin a temporary deputy or stand-in (literally ‘one holding a place’) Latin the best known or most authoritative passage on a subject (literally locus classicus ‘classical place’) Latin the most important work of an artist, writer, etc. (literally ‘great magnum opus work’) French having failed to become what one might have been manqué (from manquer ‘to lack’) Latin an acknowledgement that something is one's fault (literally ‘by my mea culpa fault’) Latin something kept as a reminder that death is inevitable (literally memento mori ‘remember (that you have) to die’) French an arrangement in which a married couple and the lover of one ménage à trois of them live together (literally ‘household of three’) modus operandi Latin a way of doing something (literally ‘way of operating’) Latin an arrangement that allows conflicting parties to coexist modus vivendi peacefully (literally ‘way of living’) mot juste French the most appropriate word or expression ne plus ultra Latin the best example of something (literally ‘not further beyond’) nil desperandum Latin do not despair noblesse oblige French privilege entails responsibility Latin whether one wants or likes something or not (literally ‘not willing, nolens volens willing’) Latin a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the non sequitur previous statement (literally ‘it does not follow’) French people who have recently become rich and who display their nouveau riche wealth ostentatiously (literally ‘new rich’) objet d’art French a small decorative or artistic object on dit French a piece of gossip (literally ‘they say’) papabile Italian worthy or eligible to be elected pope French better or more than all others of the same kind (literally ‘by par excellence excellence’) parti pris French a preconceived view; a bias (literally ‘side taken’) per annum Latin for each year per capita Latin for each person (literally ‘by heads’) per se Latin by or in itself or themselves persona non Latin a person who is not welcome somewhere grata pièce de French the most important or impressive item (literally ‘piece (i.e. résistance means) of resistance’) French a small flat or house kept for occasional use (literally ‘foot to pied-à-terre earth’) pis aller French a last resort (literally ‘worse to go’) French a special dish prepared by a restaurant on a particular day plat du jour (literally ‘dish of the day’) French used to express resigned acknowledgement of the fact that plus ça change certain things never change (from plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose ‘the more it changes, the more it stays the same’) pococurante Italian careless or nonchalant (literally ‘little caring’) prima facie Latin accepted as so until proved otherwise (literally ‘at first face’) primus inter Latin the senior or representative member of a group (literally ‘first pares among equals’) pro rata Latin proportional; proportionally (literally ‘according to the rate’) Latin the person who comes second in an examination or is runner-up proxime accessit for an award (literally ‘came very near’) Latin a favour or advantage given in return for something (literally quid pro quo ‘something for something’) French the most important reason for someone or something's existence raison d’être (literally ‘reason for being’) reductio ad Latin a method of disproving a premise by showing that its logical absurdum conclusion is absurd (literally ‘reduction to the absurd’) French a novel in which real people or events appear with invented roman-à-clef names (literally ‘novel with a key’) French the ability to stay calm in difficult circumstances (literally ‘cold sangfroid blood’) French the ability to act appropriately in social situations (literally savoir faire ‘know how to do’) sine die Latin (of proceedings) adjourned indefinitely (literally ‘without a day’) sine qua non Latin a thing that is absolutely essential (literally ‘without which not’) soi-disant French self-styled; so-called (literally ‘self-saying’) sotto voce Italian in a quiet voice (literally ‘under voice’) Latin being considered by a court of law and therefore not to be publicly sub judice discussed elsewhere (literally ‘under a judge’) sub rosa Latin happening or done in secret (literally ‘under the rose’) sui generis Latin unique (literally ‘of its own kind’) French a restaurant meal offered at a fixed price, with few if any table d’hôte choices (literally ‘host's table’) tant mieux French so much the better tant pis French so much the worse; too bad terra firma Latin dry land; the ground (literally ‘firm land’) terra incognita Latin unknown territory tête-à-tête French a private conversation (literally ‘head-to-head’) tour de force French a thing accomplished with great skill (literally ‘feat of strength’) tout de suite French at once (literally ‘quite in sequence’) unheimlich German uncanny or weird verboten German forbidden via media Latin a compromise (literally ‘middle way’) Latin the overall champion in a sports competition (literally ‘victor of victor ludorum the games’) vis-à-vis French in relation to; as compared with (literally ‘face-to-face’) vox populi Latin public opinion (literally ‘the voice of the people’) German the characteristic spirit or mood of a particular historical period zeitgeist (literally ‘time spirit’)