Foreign Words in English: Part-1

The usage of foreign words in English started long ago. It is estimated that English has borrowed
more than 20,000 words from other languages. These are frequently used in English leaving no clue
for discrimination. It is understood that the root words which give rise to other words in English are
actually adopted from foreign languages (like Latin, Greek, Sanskrit etc).Hence English can also be
considered as a aged derived language. When the habit of colonization started, the British colonies
were established in different parts of the world. This has not failed them in spreading their language.
On the contrary, English received several gifts as words. When we scan the word „Jungle‟ we are
able too it brushing closely with the Hindi word which has almost got similar pronunciation. Well
one could say that many of the words in English were actually souvenirs of the wars fought against
different foreign regions. This is evident in case of the word jihad which was grabbed from the
Arabs. One has to also understand the foreign words are possessing its native pronunciation. This
should also be noted. The advantage of knowing a foreign word is that one can use it as an
impression creator when you use it wisely.

List Of Foreign Words Commonly Used In English According To The Alphabetical Order.

Letter A

1. ad absurdum
Origin: Latin
Meaning: point of absurdity
“The foolish employee took the presentation to ad absurdum.”

2. ad infinitum
Origin: Latin
Meaning: to infinity
“The boring move seems to go ad infinitum.”

3. ad nauseam
Origin: Latin
Meaning: to a sickening degree
“The torture done to the refugees has turned ad nauseam.”

4. Aficionado
Origin: Spanish
Meaning: an ardent devotee
“I was astounded at what a moto GP aficionado she had become.”

5. Angst
Origin: German
Meaning: dread and anxiety
“The impact of the nuclear explosion has left the folks of Japan angst.”
6. annus mirabilis
Origin: Latin
Meaning: wonderful year
“The financial plans made by Y.V.Reddy has made 2017 the annus mirabilis”

7. a priori
Origin: Latin
Meaning: based on theory rather than observation
“Most of the a priori theories formed by Albert Einstein were proved later.

8. au courant
Origin: French
Meaning: up to date
“The log book showing records is au courant”

9. agent provocateur
Origin: French
Meaning : a person who tempts a suspected criminal to commit a crime so that they can be caught
and convicted
“The antagonist of the TV series is an agent who keeps solving cases by being an agent provocater.‟

10. Alfresco
Origin: Italian
Meaning: in the open air
“Most of the plays by Tim Berland were meant to be conducted alfresco”

11. Au fait
Origin: French
Meaning: familiar and having a good detailed knowledge
“Are you au fait with the rule of parallelism?.”

12. à huis clos

Origin: French
Meaning: in private
“The meeting by the heads were conducted a huis clos.”

13. amour propre

Origin: French
Meaning: self-respect
“Never do anything that hurts your amour prope.”

14. au naturel
Origin: French
Meaning: in a simple or natural way
“Her au naturel nature of dressing kept her ugly.”

15. a cappella
Origin: Italian
Meaning: sung without instrument
“She was asked to go for a cappella of the song during the rehearsal.”
Letter B

1. beau geste
Origin: French
Meaning: a noble and generous act
“A person can create an impression by doing beau geste.”

2. beau idéal
Origin: French
Meaning: the highest standard of excellence
“Marlin was known for her beau ideal.”

3. beau monde
Origin: French
Meaning: fashionable society
“The streets of Mumbai are known for their beau monde.”

4. beaux arts
Origin: French
Meaning :Fine arts
“People who are good at beaux arts will get an upper hand in MICA.”

5. bête noire
Origin: French
Meaning: a person or thing one particularly dislikes

“Mr.Alfred is my family‟s bete noire.”

6. billet-doux
Origin: French
Meaning: a love letter
“The billet-doux written by Mr.Nobel stole her heart.”

7. Blitzkrieg
Origin: German
Meaning :a sudden attack in order to win
“King Pazzasi Raja was known for his blitzkrieg against the Britishers.”

8. Bona fide
Origin: Latin
Meaning: genuine; real
“The bona fide „Monalisa‟ picture is kept at a museum.”

9. bon mot
Origin: French
Meaning : a clever or witty remark
“The bon mot made by Mr.Putin on Mr.Modi was celebrated on twitter.”

10. Brasserie
Origin: French
Meaning: a restaurant in French style or origin
“The brasserie La Gane Del is a famous one.”
Letter C

1. carpe diem
Origin: Latin
Meaning: make the most of present time
“The modern corporate life is based on carpe diem principle.”

2. carte blanche
Origin: French
Meaning: complete freedom to act as one wishes
“When he got promoted he attained carte blanche.”

3. cause célèbre
Origin: French
Meaning :a controversial issue attracting much public attention
“Nipa outbreak containment is cause celebre.”

4. caveat emptor
Origin: Latin
Meaning: the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a
purchase is made.
“Caveat emptor still holds good these days when you buy a car.”

5. c'est la guerre
Origin: French
Meaning: accept resignation or defeat
“A real fighter should c‟est la guerre.”

6. chacun à son gout

Origin :French
Meaning : each of their own taste
“All the music tracks in the CD have chacun à son gout.”

7. chef-d’œuvre
Origin: French
Meaning: a masterpiece
“The painting on the wall is chef-d‟œuvre of that painter.”

8. cherche la femme
Origin: French
Meaning: a women is behind the problem
“The stock market has crashed, cherche la femme.”

9. comme il faut
Origin: French
Meaning: correct in behaviour or etiquette
“My comme il faut uncle cleared civil service examination.”

10.compos mentis
Origin: Latin
Meaning: sane;in full control of one‟s mind
“A yoga practitioner is compos mentis.”

Letter D

1. De facto
Origin: French
Meaning : In law and government, de facto describes practices that exist in reality, even if not legally
recognised by official laws
“The de facto rules are holding this community together.”

2. Dei gratia
Origin: French
Meaning: by the grace of God
“The vessel managed to reach the shore safely dei gratia.”

3. déjà vu
Origin: French
Meaning: a situation that has already been experienced
“After shifting into the new house I felt a sense of deja vu.”

4. de jure
Origin: Latin
Meaning: by right;by law
“You are supposed to get the amount de jure.”

5. de nos jours
Origin: French
Meaning: used to say that someone is like a modern version of a person from the past
“The main protagonist of the movie is de nos jours of Elvis.”

5. de profundis
Origin: Latin
Meaning: expressing one's deepest feelings
“She is one person whom I can convey my de profundis feelings to.”

6. de rigueur
Origin: French
Meaning: required by etiquette or current fashion
“The King de rigueur the concert.”

7. dernier cri
Origin: French
Meaning: latest fashion
“The red suit is the drenier cri.”

8. de trop
Origin: French
Meaning: not wanted
“The extra bed is de trop.”

9. deus ex machina
Origin: Latin
Meaning :an deliberately created event that saves an apparently hopeless situation
“The court order produced at the last moment was dues ex machina.”

10. Doppelgänger
Origin: German
Meaning: someone who looks like you
“Trisha met her doppelganger the other day and she did not recognize her.”

11. double entendre

Origin: French
Meaning: a word or phrase with two meanings
“The word „play‟ when used in a conversation turns out to be a „double entendre.‟

12. dramatis personae

Origin: Latin
Meaning: the character in a play
“Whenever we leave the theatre we carry the characteristics of the dramatis personae with us.”

13. dolce vita

Origin: Italian
Meaning: Sweet life with pleasures and self-indulgence
“My Las Vegas vacation was a time of dolce vita.”

Letter E

1. embarras de richesse
Origin: French
Meaning: a superfluity of something, more than one needs or wants
“To solve the question,I require embarras de richesse formulas.”

2. éminence grise
Origin: French
Meaning: a person who has power or influence without holding an official position
“His dad has become eminence grise after defending the political move apolitically.”

3. en famille
Origin: French
Meaning: with one‟s family;in an informal way
“Vacations spent en famille are the best.”

4. enfant terrible
Origin: French
Meaning: person whose behaviour is unconventional or controversial
“She has been suspected to be a drug addict after her behaviour turned out to be enfant terrible.”

5. en masse
Origin: French
Meaning: all together
“The yarns brought in the container were en masse.”

6. en passant
Origin: French
Meaning: By the way
“The last remark should be formal en passant.”

7. entente cordiale
Origin: French
Meaning: an understanding between states
“The bilateral meeting between India and Japan established entente cordiale.‟

8. entre nous
Origin: French
Meaning: between ourselves
“The secret that I told you now should be kept entre nous.”

9. esprit de corps
Origin: French
Meaning: a feeling of pride and loyalty uniting the members of a group.”
“The esprit de corps of mechanical department keeps growing in my college.”

10. ex gratia
Origin: Latin
Meaning: given as a favour and not by law
“The car that is parked there was given to me by my dad ex gratia.”

11. ex officio
Origin: Latin
Meaning: by virtue of one‟s position or status
“The major receives his respect by ex officio.”

12. ex cathedra
Origin: Latin
Meaning: with authority
“He was proclaimed as a saint by the post ex cathedra.”