Commonly Used Foreign Words and Phrases

Question 1

RSVP

Answer 1

Part of Speech:
Verb (used without object) – to reply to an invitation
Noun (a reply to an invitation)

Example:
(Verb) Don’t forget to RSVP before Thursday.
(Noun) He sent a lovely bouquet of flowers with his RSVP

Question 2

déjà vu

Answer 2

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The new television season had a sense of déjà vu about it—the same old plots and characters with new names.

Origin: French

Question 3

faux pas

Answer 3

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: He committed a social faux pas when he called her Mrs. Instead of Miss.

Origin: French

Question 4

du jour

Answer 4

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The soup de jour is potato

Origin: French

Question 5

Bon Voyage

Answer 5

Part of Speech: Interjection

Example: Bon voyage, mom!

Origin: French

Question 6

Alma mater

Answer 6

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: I went to a football game at my alma mater, UTK

Origin: Latin

Question 7

Cum laude

Answer 7

Part of Speech: Adverb

Example: She graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Tech

Origin: Latin

Question 8

femme fatale

Answer 8

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Angelina Jolie is a true femme fatale

Origin: French

Question 9

esprit de corps

Answer 9

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Participation in community service improves the group’s esprit de corps.

Origin: French

Question 10

Verbatim

Answer 10

Part of Speech: Adjective or Adverb

Example:
Adverb- James mother told him to tell the principal about the argument he had with his teacher
Adjective- This is a verbatim recording of the proceedings

Origin: Latin

Question 11

E pluribus unum

Answer 11

Part of Speech: Phrase

Example: E pluribus unum was adopted as the national motto for the United States in 1776

Origin: Latin

Question 12

prima donna

Answer 12

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Valerie is the prima donna of our school’s senior play this year

Origin: Italian

Question 13

avant-garde

Answer 13

Part of Speech: Noun or Adjective

Example:
Noun- Apple computers are the avant-garde in technology
Adjective- She is very avant-garde in her fashion sense

Origin: French

Question 14

status quo

Answer 14

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: People with money are often satisfied with the status quo

Origin: Latin

Question 15

joie de vivre

Answer 15

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: She displays a true joie de vivre

Origin: French

Question 16

carte blanche

Answer 16

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Unconditional authority; full discretionary power

Origin: French

Question 17

caveat emptor

Answer 17

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: On the web, the advice “caveat emptor” has never been more apt.

Origin: Latin

Question 18

Alpha and omega

Answer 18

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: God is the alpha and omega

Origin: Greek

Question 19

tabula rasa

Answer 19

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: John Locke believed that a child’s mind was a tabula rasa

Origin: Latin

Question 20

hoi polloi

Answer 20

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The hoi polloi think that Fitzgerald is a great screen director.

Origin: Greek

Question 21

ad nauseam

Answer 21

Part of Speech: adverb

Example: We have heard about all the budget cuts ad nauseam.

Origin: Latin

Question 22

carpe diem

Answer 22

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: It’s a beautiful day, so forget tomorrow’s tests; Carpe diem!

Origin: Latin

Question 23

tempus fugit

Answer 23

Part of Speech: phrase

Example: Tempus fugit when you’re having fun

Origin: Latin

Question 24

c’est la vie

Answer 24

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Suzanne’s response to her job loss was, “C’est la vie.”

Origin: French

Question 25

bona fide

Answer 25

Part of Speech: Adjective Example: The museum has a bona fide sample of Lincoln’s handwriting Origin: Latin

Question 26

savoir faire

Answer 26

Part of Speech: Noun Example: At the fancy restaurant, I realized that I lacked the savior-faire to use all of the silverware correctly. Origin: French

Question 27

non sequitur

Answer 27

Part of Speech: Noun Example: We had been discussing plumbing, so her remark about astrology was a real non sequitur. Origin: Latin

Question 28

id est (i.e.)

Answer 28

Part of Speech: Adverb Example: I’m going to the place where I work best, i.e., the coffee shop. Origin: Latin

Question 29

enfant terrible

Answer 29

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The spoiled child was enfant terrible Origin: French

Question 30

terra firma

Answer 30

Part of Speech: Noun Example: After our stormy voyage, we were relieved to set foot on terra firma. Origin: Latin

Question 31

vox populi

Answer 31

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The speaker’s address got barely a whisper from the vox populi Origin: Latin

Question 32

ad hoc

Answer 32

Part of Speech: Adverb or Adjective Example: After a tornado swept through the school, an ad hoc group of parents was formed to assist in the repairs Origin: Latin

Question 33

cause celebre

Answer 33

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The question of the draft was a cause célèbre in the 1960s. Origin: French

Question 34

magnum opus

Answer 34

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Moby Dick was Melville's magnum opus Origin: Latin

Question 35

persona non grata

Answer 35

Part of Speech: Noun Example: He has become persona non grata in our club Origin: Latin

Question 36

quid pro quo

Answer 36

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The Chinese may make some concessions on trade, but they will no doubt demand a quid pro quo, so we must be prepared to make concessions too Origin: Latin

Question 37

je ne sais quoi

Answer 37

Part of Speech: Noun Example: She has a certain je ne sais quoi that charms everybody Origin: French

Question 38

modus operandi

Answer 38

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Her modus operandi in buying a new car always included a month of research. Origin: Latin

Question 39

Nom de plume

Answer 39

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Samuel Clemens nom de plume is Mark Twain Origin: French

Question 40

haute couture

Answer 40

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The new I-Phone is a god send to techies everywhere – hot technology meets haute couture Origin: French

Question 41

Mea culpa

Answer 41

Part of Speech: Interjection Example: I gave you the wrong directions to my house – mea culpa Origin: Latin

Question 42

raison d’etre

Answer 42

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Professor Naylor argues that in the nuclear age, infantry forces have lost their raison d'être Origin: French

Question 43

laissez faire

Answer 43

Part of Speech: Noun Example: People who support a laissez faire system are against minimum wages, duties, and any other trade restrictions Origin: French

Question 44

bete noire

Answer 44

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Tax shelters have long been the bête noire of reformers Origin: French

Question 45

en masse

Answer 45

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The protesters marched en masse to the capitol. Origin: French

Question 46

in absentia

Answer 46

Part of Speech: Adverb Example: The man was tried and convicted in absentia Origin: Latin

Question 47

sub rosa

Answer 47

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The meeting was held sub rosa, due to the sensitive nature of its content Origin: Latin

Question 48

schadenfreude

Answer 48

Part of Speech: Noun Example: To feel envy is human, to savor schadenfreude is devilish Origin: German

Question 49

noblesse oblige

Answer 49

Part of Speech: Noun Example: In the Robinson family’s circles, public service had long been common; it connoted not personal ambition so much as noblisse oblige Origin: French

Question 50

sine qua non

Answer 50

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event. Origin: Latin

Question 51

deus ex machina

Answer 51

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Only a deus ex machina could resolve the novel’s thorny crisis. Origin: New Latin

Question 52

doppelganger

Answer 52

Part of Speech: Noun Example: Doppelganger experiences have led many people to believe that they were part of a set of twins that had been separated at birth. Origin: Greek

Question 53

coup d’etat

Answer 53

Part of Speech: Noun Example: The SPD once swore to defend the Republic against any coup d’etat from the right or the left. Origin: French