Foreign Expressions / French/Latin/Greek

English language has borrowed a lot of foreign words and phrases over centuries. We use a number of French, German, Latin and Greek words in our daily communication. Here, we present you a series of articles to help you strengthen your vocabulary. Each list contains 15-30 words belonging to a particular language.

French:

1. A la carte: On the menu
   Example: Restaurants usually offer variety on their à la carte with choices for each of the several courses.
2. A la minute: To the minute
   Example: This term is used in restaurant kitchens for dishes which are cooked to order, rather than made ahead of time.
3. À la mode: In fashion, style
   Example: Apparently someone decided that having ice cream on pie was the à la mode way to eat it.
4. Adieu: Farewell, good bye
   Example: I bade him adieu when he was leaving the country forever.
5. Aide-de-camp: Camp assistant
   Example: A military officer who serves as a personal assistant to a higher-ranking officer.
6. Aide-mémoire: Memory aid; a note serving as a reminder
   Example: In international relations, an aide-mémoire is a proposed agreement or negotiating text circulated informally among delegations for discussion.
7. Ambiance: The mood, character, quality, tone, atmosphere, etc., particularly of an environment.
   Example: The restaurant had a delightful ambiance.
8. Amour-propre: Self love; self respect
   Example: He was essentially a good-tempered man and had not a trace of amour propre in his nature.
9. Aperitif: Cocktail (The actual meaning of apéritif is ‘to open’ and it has come from Latin originally).
   Example: Start the evening by enjoying an aperitif beside the roaring fire in the snug lounge area.
10. Attaché: Attached; A person assigned to a diplomatic post
    Example: Most of the Ambassadors have their attaché to deal with people's queries.
11. Au contraire: On the contrary
    Example: I told you that she misbehaved with me. Au contraire you are scolding me.
12. Au courant: Up-to-date
    Example: The shoes, the hair, the clothes- every last detail of her dress, in fact- was utterly au courant.
13. Au gratin: With gratings; Anything that is grated and put on top of a dish, like breadcrumbs or cheese
    Example: She likes to cook her pasta and grilled vegetables au gratin as her kids like that more.
14. Bas-relief: Low relief/design; Sculpture that is only slightly more prominent than its background.
    Example: The marble bas-relief panels were set into the walls of the hall.
15. Beau geste: A fine or noble gesture, often futile.
    Example: My fellow writers supported me by writing letters of protest to the publisher, but their beau geste could not prevent the inevitable.
16. Beau monde: High society
    Example: Such elegant decor would impress even the beau monde.
17. Blond / blonde: Fair-haired; blond is for a man and blonde for a woman.
    Example: I saw a blonde walking on the beach with a floral printed skirt.
18. Bon appétit: Good appetite; Enjoy your meal
    Example: She invited us for a meal and said bon appétit when we began eating.
19. Bon mot: A witty remark or comment
    Example: One bon mot after another flew out of his mouth, charming the audience.
20. Bon vivant: A person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink.
    Example: It's true he's quite the bon vivant, but when he gets down to business he conducts himself like a Spartan.
21. Bon voyage: Have a good trip
    Example: Women in India apply vermillion on their husband's foreheads as a custom to bid bon voyage when they go on journeys.
22. Bonjour : Good Morning. (also used in the afternoon)
    Example: Looking forward to speaking with you all soon, bonjour!
23. Brunette: Small, dark-haired female; The French word ‘brun’, dark-haired, is what English really means by ‘brunette’
    Example: Ms Franklin, a stunning brunette, is serving four years for drugs offenses in a Texas jail.
24. Carte blanche: Unrestricted power to act on one's own.
    Example: I may have carte blanche around the office, but at home I'm a slave to my family's demands.
25. Cause célèbre: A widely known controversial case or issue
    Example: The Sacco and Vanzetti trial became an international cause célèbre during the 1920s.
26. Potpourri: Rotten pot; A scented mixture of dried flowers and spices; a miscellaneous group or collection
    Example: She gifted me a potpourri made from the dozens of the roses.
27. Rendezvous': Go to; refers to a date or an appointment
    Example: Sail away to a romantic rendezvous for two or windsurf atop the waves like dolphin at play.

Latin:

1. (sic): You write (sic) in brackets after a word or expression when you are quoting something that someone else has said or written.
   Example: She said that she liked very much London (sic) and wanted to stay here for a long time.
2. A priori: Based on theory rather than observation           
   Example: The fact that their house is in such disrepair suggests a priori that they are having financial difficulties.
3. Ad absurdum: To the point of absurdity               
   Example: He tediously repeated his argument ad absurdum.
4. Ad hoc: As an adjective, it means "formed or created with a specific purpose," and as an adverb, it means "for the specific purpose or situation."   
   Examples: i) The World Bank's board on Friday ordered an ad hoc group to discuss the matter.
   ii) The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.
5. Ad infinitum: To infinity
   Example: The lecture seemed to drone on ad infinitum.
6. Ad Nauseam: If something that happens over and over again so that people get completely bored         
   Example: He talked ad nauseam about his achievements and how successful he is. It was boring!
7. Addendum: An item to be added, especially a supplement to a book. The plural is addenda.
   Example: I will sign the contract once an addendum is included to require the lessor to repaint the apartment within 60 days.
8. Alma Mater: One's old school   
   Example: Central High School is my alma mater.
9. Alter ego: Other (alternative) self            
   Example: A person with an alter ego is said to lead a double life
10. Annus mirabilis: Wonderful year              
    Example: Last year was the annus mirabilis for my company.
11. Aqua: Water     
    Example: Aqua aerobics is a water workout that improves fitness whilst protecting the joints.
12. Bona fide: In good faith; genuine             
    Example: For all her reticence and modesty, it was clear that she was a bona fide expert in her field.
13. Carpe diem: Seize the day           
    Example: So what if you have an 8:00 a.m. meeting tomorrow and various appointments? Carpe diem!
14. Casus belli: An act justifying war               
    Example: The general felt that the banana republic's insolent remarks about our national honor were enough of a casus belli to launch an attack.
15. Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware  
    Example: Before you leap at that real estate deal, caveat emptor!
16. Census: Count of citizens             
    Example: Census of the population is being taken for the purpose of assessing revenue.
17. Collum: Collar   
    Example: The figure is wearing a heavy collum around the front of the neck, with a wide pendant in the center.
18. Cras: Tomorrow
    Example: As an optimist, he believes the show will start again cras even after several failures.
19. De Facto: "Actual" (if used as an adjective) or "in practice" (if used as an adverb).
     In legal terms, de facto is commonly used in contrast to de jure, which means "by law." Something, therefore, can emerge either de facto (by practice) or de jure (by law).              
    Examples: i) Mama was in bed all day every day, suffering from depression; my sister was my de facto mother.
    ii) Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country.
    iii) In this prominent position, she's making her own de facto debut as a writer with a message for the general public.
20. Dei Gratia: By the grace of God
    Example: De Gratia, he survived a very bad road accident last week and is safe and healthy now.
21. Deus ex machine: A contrived device to resolve a situation          
    Example: Stretching plausibility, the movie concluded with a deus ex machina ending in which everyone was rescued at the last minute.
22. E.g. (exempli gratia): For Example           
    Example: I buy many things in this shop e.g. video game player
23. Erratum: Error; mistake
    Example: Lists of errors from a previous publication are often marked "errata" (the plural, meaning errors).
24. Et cetera: And the rest  
    Example: We urgently need to buy medical equipment, drugs et cetera.
25. Ex cathedra: With authority; used especially of those pronouncements of the pope that are considered infallible.               
    Example: I resigned myself to obeying; my father's opinions were ex cathedra in our household.

Greek:

1. Acme: The highest point of a structure  
   Example: One could say that Rome reached the acme of its power on 117 AD, under the rule of Trajan.
2. Amnesia: Oblivion          
   Example: The woman who had been in an accident was suffering from amnesia and because of this she didn't recognize her family.
3. Amphibious/amphibians: Living a double life     
   Example: His talk will be on four wild animals, including an amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal.
4. Anachronism: Wrong time reference    
   Example: The intentional use of older, often obsolete cultural artifacts may be regarded as anachronistic.
5. Anagoge/anagogy: Spiritual uplift, reference to a principle        
   Example: Anagoge is currently in the bottom 30% of lookups on Merriam-Webster.com.
6. Anagram: Transpose the letters of one word so as to form another       
   Example: Any word or phrase that exactly reproduces the letters in another order is an anagram.
7. Analogy: Proportion      
   Example: It is argued that every analogy is partially superfluous and can be rendered as a deduction.
8. Analyse/Analysis: Loosen, simplify         
   Example: Sentence analysis is not always easy but it is an essential tool in English Grammar.
9. Anamnesis: Recollection, reminiscence
   Example: Anamnesis is often used as a narrative technique in fiction and poetry as well as in memoirs and autobiographies.
10. Anecdote: Unpublished               
    Example: The writer makes his living by anecdotes. He searches them out and carves them as the raw materials of his profession.
11. Anemia: refers to a condition characterized by a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of the red blood cells (or of the hemoglobin).            
    Example: Never feed an onion to your pet, as large amounts can destroy your pet's red blood cells causing anemia.
12. Anesthe-: Lack of sensation, insensibility under surgical treatment          
    Example: The doctors had to give local anesthesia to the patient to be able to remove his tooth.
13. Anorexia: Lack of appetite          
    Example: The most commonly affected by anorexia are young women in education aged between 15-25.
14. Antagonize: Struggle against, prove a match for               
    Example: Mix a little sincerity and gumption in your hard-line approach, and perhaps you'll get somewhere and not antagonize others.
15. Arthritis: Inflammation of Joint 
    Example: The old lady looks crippled by arthritis.
16. Asulon (Asylum in English): Sanctuary    
    Example: She ended up in a lunatic asylum shortly afterward a terrible road accident.