Foreign Words and Phrases

EtymologyThe etymology of a word is its history or origin. You will

find the etymology in the dictionary entry for the word. Sometimes the
language the word comes from will be abbreviated. For example, L
means the word is Latin, It means Italian, F or Fr means French, etc.
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faux pas (F) foe PAHliterally means false stepA faux pas is an
embarrassing social blunder or mistake in etiquette or manners.
Burping loudly at the dinner table is a faux pas in American culture;
however in some cultures, it is a way to compliment the chef!
bon mot (F) bahn moeliterally means good wordA bon mot is a
witty remark or comment, a clever saying, or a witticism. Note that bon
is the French form of the Latin root ben/bene, which means good.
(Remember the example words for that rootbenefit, benevolent,
benediction)
bon vivant (F) bahn vee-vahntliterally means good livingA bon
vivant is someone who lives luxuriously, enjoying expensive/good food
and drink. Note that it has the Latin root viv, meaning live. (Remember
the QUACK word conviviallively, festive, fond of partying.) If I win the
lottery, I could be a bon vivant, or I could use my wealth to help less
fortunate people.
quid pro quo (L)It means You do something for me, and Ill do
something for you. In English we say, You scratch my back, and Ill
scratch yours.

Je ne sais quoi (F) jeh neh say qwah literally it means I do not
know whatWhen we are talking about an interesting or unique
quality of a person, but we cant quite identify that quality, we say that
they have that certain something.that je ne sais quoi.
ennui (F) ohn WEEIt means BOREDOM! As I listened to my elderly
stepdad talk for over an hour about his cousins sisters retirement
home, I suffered from a serious case of ennui!
ad nauseam (L) ad NAH-zee-umliterally means to a sickening
degreeIf someone is telling you the same thing over and over until
you are so SICK of hearing about it that you want to scream, then they
are telling you about this ad nauseam. A synonym would be our
QUACK word belabor, meaning to repeat something again and again.
mal de mer (F I think) mal de mareliterally means bad of the
seaIt simply means seasickness. When we went on a cruise ship, my
husband suffered from mal de mer, but I did not. (Remember the Latin
root mal which means bad and the example words.malnutrition,
malfunction, malodorous)
pro bono (L) pro bone-oh--It means for freeI most frequently see
this word used in connection with lawyers. Sometimes a lawyer will
work pro bono for human rights issues.
savoir faire (F) saaa-vwah fairIf someone has savoir faire, it means
they know what to do in any social situation. Its about knowing
manners, being decorous or having a sense of decorum (QUACK!), and
having excellent common sense.

sotto voce (It) SEW-toe VOE-shay literally means under the

voiceIf you are speaking sotto voce, you are whispering so softly that
I can hardly hear you.
memento mori (L) meh-MENTO MORE-eeIt means, Remember,
someday you will die. It is to remind us of our mortality.
schadenfreude (G) SHAW-den FROI-duhIt means to experience joy
at someone elses misfortune. Schade=too bad Freude=joy
zeitgeist (G) tsight guyst literally means time ghost/spiritIt
means the overall feeling (spirit) a group of people has at a particular
time in history. Right after 9/11, the zeitgeist in this country was very
patriotic. In the 1980s, the zeitgeist of American culture was to make
as much money as possible and not care who got hurt in the process.
(See the character Gordon Gecko from the 1980s movie Wall Street for
an example.) The zeitgeist of the 1960s was one of cultural and social
revolution. Many people wanted to change the status quo; this feeling
fueled the Civil Rights Movement and helped Cesar Chavez bring better
working conditions to migrant farmworkers.
bte noire (F) bet NWAHRliterally means beast dark/blackIt is
something or someone that you despise or hate. For some students,
Reading Counts is their bte noire.
Cest la vie (F) say lah veeIt means Thats life! Thats the way life
isSuch is life!
hors doeuvre (F) ore derveIt means appetizer. At the Super Bowl
party, they served nachos as an hors doeurve. Then we had burgers for
the main course.

elan (F) ay-LAHNIf you do something with elan, you do it with flair
and style and class.
angst (G) ahngst It means great anxiety or fear/worry about
something. Speaking in front of a large group of people gives many
humans angst.
Carpe diem (L) CAR-pay DEE-emliterally means seize the day
Its an expression that means Live for the moment; dont worry about
the future.