French, Latin or even Russian words used in English Literature have often confused and troubled me, thus compelling me to research and find their meanings. For you convenience here is a list of ten most commonly used foreign words:
- au fait (French): having a good or detailed knowledge
- bona fide (Latin): genuine; real
- carte blanche (French): complete freedom to act as one wishes
- de facto (Latin): in fact, whether by right or not
- déjà vu (French): the sense of having experienced the present situation before
- prima facie (Latin): accepted as so until proved otherwise
- faux pas (French): an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion
- joie de vivre (French): exuberant enjoyment of life
- haute couture ((French): the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses
- grande dame (French): a woman who is influential within a particular sphere
June 16, 2009 at 8:59 PM
improves my vocabulary :-)
Grande is also "big" in spanish ;-)
June 17, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Gracias, Spaceeba, Hvala, (Thank you)
August 21, 2009 at 9:01 PM
Thanks for putting that up.. i know a couple of them but for some i always forget.. like bonafide...
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November 16, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Thanks for the input. And have you stopped scribbling in 'Delve into the mind of a budding blogger'? Hope to see you there soon.
September 1, 2010 at 11:17 AM
I think the only one I used ever was number 5
April 14, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Sweet! Is always nice to learn new things, especially an estrange language..
July 7, 2011 at 1:58 PM
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September 4, 2014 at 3:24 AM
Nice list. Sometimes these words and phrases are overused in books and it can be frustrating to say the least.
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