Foreign Words and Phrases

1. Ab initio: from the beginning

2. Ad hoc: for one specific purpose
3. à la carte:by the card. Order from menu. Not a buffet.If you eat à la carte, you
choose each dish from a separatelistinstead of eating a fixedcombination of dishes at
a fixedprice:
4. Adnauseum: till nausea
5. Ad referendum. : for referral : subject to agreement by another or others.
6. Afficionado[uh-fish-yuh-nah-doh]: knowledgeable in something, ardent
supporter.He’s a basketball aficionado.
7. Alibi: having a witness
8. Amicus Curiae: Friend of the court. A neutral non partisan.
9. Au courant [oh koo-rahn]: upto date, literally in the current. Example: to be au
courant with everything.
10. Au Contraire : on the contrary.
11. Audi alteram partem – No man shall be condemned unheard.Example:If only on
the principle of audi alteram partem, his opinion is entitled to consideration
12. Avant garde [uh-vahnt-gahrd]: artistically innovative,
unorthodoxandexperimentalmethods
13. Bete noire[beytnwahr] [noun]: person whom you dislike a lot. Example:Nothing can
be more disagreeable to the scientist than a bete noir.
14. Carte blanche: Full freedom to act.Example:I understandthatyougive me
carteblanche to actforyou,
15. Caveat[kav-ee-aht] –warning. A caution registered with the public court to indicate
to the officials that they are not to act in the matter mentioned in the caveat without
first giving notice to the caveator.
16. Caveat Emptor: Buyer beware.
17. Caveat Venditor: Seller beware.
18. Carpe diem: sieze the day.
19. Corpus – Body
20. Coup d’etat: overthrow govt. Example:Pakistan’s military had been known to
engage in coup d’etat.
21. Coup de grace [[kooduhgrahs]: final blow. Example:He had bowed his head and
waited sullenly for the coup de grace.
22. Cul-de-sac [kuhl-duh-sak]: a blind alley, lane dead on one end. A situation where
further progress is impossible.Example:It is a labyrinth of winding alley often ending
in a cul-de-sac.
23. Crème De La Crème: best of the lot
24. De fact: the fact, even without law, as a matter of fact.
25. De jure: by law, as a matter of right. What is supposed to be.
Example:I know that, de jure, this is supposed to be a parking lot, but now that the
flood has left four feet of water here, it’s a de facto swimming pool.”
26. De novo[adverb] – To make something anew. From the beginning. Example: I have
adventured to publish it de novo in this book. A case tried de novo
27. En masse (adv): in a single body or group; as one. Example: The statetogethermoved
the inmates en masse to the new prison.
28. Ex officio: by virtue of office. Example:The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of
NitiAyog.
29. Ex Post Facto: Done retroactively.Example: Article 20 of Indian Constitution has
provisions barring ex post facto laws when it comes to criminal matters.
30. Ex parte – Proceedings in the absence of the other party.
31. enfant terrible .[ahn-fahnte-ree-bluh: a person who behaves in an unconventional or
controversial way ora child whose inopportune remarks cause embarrassment.Earlier
used for children. Now used for both children and adults.Example: "the enfant terrible
of contemporary art" "terrifying child”.
32. Ex gratia(adj or adv)– As a favour.Example:ex gratia pension payments
33. Fait accompli[fe ta-kawn-plee]: accomplished fact. Example: That does not make a
war with Iran a fait accompli, but it does bring the possibility ever closer.
34. Faux Pas[fohpah]: Social Blunder.
35. Femme fatale:a woman who attracts woman by charm and mystery.
36. Haute Couture (n) [ohtkoo-too r]: high dressmaking. Example: Dress made by
leading designera fashion designer who's a renowned master of haute coutureThere's
a longstanding assumption that haute couture clients are European, Russian,
37. Hoi Polloi (plural noun): The common masses. Example: But where hoi polloi thinks
that it gets the best of everything it is mistaken. Calcutta is a place where the elite and
the hoi polloi can rub shoulders.
38. In situ (adv and adj): situated in natural position.
Example:Thearchaeologistswereable to datethevasebecause it wasfound in situ.Anin
situ cancer confined to the breast duct.
39. In toto (adv): in entirety. Example:The judge accepted the testimony in toto.
40. Inter Alia (adv): among other things.Example:The judge said, inter alia, that the
original contract did not appear to be valid.
41. Ipso Facto (adverb): As a result of the particular fact.Any act that may be done for
this purpose is to be, ipso facto, null and void.Example:Possession of a vehicle's
registration document is not ipso facto (by that fact alone) evidence of ownership.
42. In vino veritas: in wine there’s truth. Suggesting a person under the influence of
alcohol is more likely to speak their hidden thoughts and desires.
43. In lieu of (noun)– Instead of.Example:He gave us cheque in lieu of cash
44. In personam– A proceeding in which relief I sought against a specific
person.Example:Contract law has relief in personam and tort has relief in rem.
45. Innuendo (noun) – Spoken words which are defamatory because they have a double
meaning.Example:His reputation has been damaged by innuendos about his drinking
and gambling.
46. In loco parentis (adverb), Latin for "in the place of a parent". Example:school
officials acting in loco parentis
47. Laissez Faire [les-ey-fair]: Non-interference by govt.
48. Lingua Franca (noun): language used by masses.Example: Hindi is the lingua franca
of India.
49. Locus Standi (n): right to participate in process. Example:He doesn’t not have locus
standi to speak on this matter.
50. Magnum Opus (n): Best Work. Example:War and Peace is Tolstoy’s magnum opus.
51. Mala fide: in bad faith
52. Mea culpa (n): a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error.Example:The
mayor's public mea culpa didn't satisfy his critics. I do not agree that her mea culpa is
in good faith. He issued a mea culpa for failing to discharge their duty.
53. Modus operandi(n): way of doing things. Example: He believed in doing things
through quiet persuasion, which was his modus operandi
54. Moiety (n): one of two equal parts or approximately.Example:How is it only a
moiety of these bodies that is represented?The lot was split into two equal moieties.
War had consumed a moiety of human species.
55. Nom de plume: a pen name
56. Nouveau Riche (n)[noo-vohreesh]: newly acquired wealth. Example: What I didn't
tell you is that we're nouveau riche—no class at all.
57. Par Excellence (adj): highest quality. Example:He’s a chef par excellence.
58. Per se(adv): in itself.To show the broader vs narrower sense of it. Example: The
song, per se wasn’t bad, it was your singing which made it worse. Thus, you may
have no objection to educational testing per se, but rather to the way testing is done
59. Persona non grata (adj): not welcome. Example:The Indian Ambassador was a
persona non grata in Pakistan during the war.
60. Prima Facie: on the first impression.
61. Pro Bono (adj)- free of cost. Example: Doing pro bono work.
62. Proletariat: Working Class.
63. Quid Pro Quo (n): something for something.Example: It was a quid pro quo, his
money and my time.
64. Raison d’etre (n): the real purpose. Reason for existence.Example:Art is his raison
d'être.
65. Res Ipsa Loquitur: facts speak for themselves.
66. Rendezvous (n): meeting place. a place appointed for assembling or meeting. a
meeting at an appointed place and time. Example:The restaurant will be our
rendezvous.
67. R.S.V.P. (Respondezsi'lvousplaet) : please reply.
68. Sanctum sanctorum (n): holy of holies.The place in a temple where the idol is
kept.Example:If you are very quick, I can get you into my sanctum sanctorum.
Theholy of holies of theBiblicaltabernacleandtheTemple in Jerusalem.
69. Saluspopuliest suprema lex – The welfare of the is the supreme law. Salus is the
roman goddess of safety and well being.
70. Sang-froid [n][sahn-frwa][literally cold blood]: calm in danger. Example: He had
been wise enough to retain his sang-froid.He displayed remarkable sangfroid when
everyone else was panicking during the crisis.
71. Schadenfreude[n] [shahd-n-froi-duh] : sadism. Example: Maybe if you stare long
enough at the catastrophe, you might work through your schadenfreude to its
72. Sine die [adv] [sahy-nee dahy-ee]: for infinite period. Without a fixed day.
Example:the meeting was adjourned sine die.
73. Sine qua non [n]- an essential step. Example:Consensus ad idem is a sine qua non
for a valid contract.reliability is a sine qua non for success
74. Status quo [n]: as they are now. Example:let’s not disrupt the status quo.
75. Sub Judice [adv]: in court. Example:It is a matter sub judice.
76. Terra incognita [n]: unknown territory. Example: The country we now plunged into,
as may be guessed, was a terra incognita to me.
77. Tete-e-tete(tait e tait) [n]: a private conversation between two
people.Example:Pardon me for interrupting your tete-a-tete, but do you know who
has charge of the games?
78. Voxpopuli [n]: voice of the people. A popular sentiment.Example:In this age of
technology, social media has become the voxpopuli.
79. Vice versa [adv] –
vicis, which means “a change,” “an alteration,” or “a succession,” but also “a place”
or “a position.” Versa comes from versus, which means “to turn.” Used with and, or
or not.Reverse position.with the order changed : with the relations reversed.
the other way around. Conversely.
Example:The students are here to learn from the students, and vice versa.
I don't like Bill, and vice versa
There are times when I’m really happy and I write something really sad, and vice
versa.
80. Vis-à-vis [prep, noun, adv]- in relation to, in comparison to, face to face with.In
English it was first used to mean a little horse-drawn carriage in which two people sat
opposite each other.Example: He hated a vis-à-vis with his boss. He was substantially
underpaid vis a vis his co-workers.