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AP English > Commonly Used Foreign Words and Phrases > Flashcards

Commonly Used Foreign Words and Phrases Flashcards

Example, part of speech, Origin

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1
Q

RSVP

A

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

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2
Q

déjà vu

A

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

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3
Q

faux pas

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: French

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4
Q

du jour

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The soup de jour is potato

Origin: French

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5
Q

Bon Voyage

A

Part of Speech: Interjection

Example: Bon voyage, mom!

Origin: French

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6
Q

Alma mater

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Latin

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7
Q

Cum laude

A

Part of Speech: Adverb

Example: She graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Tech

Origin: Latin

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8
Q

femme fatale

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Angelina Jolie is a true femme fatale

Origin: French

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9
Q

esprit de corps

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: French

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10
Q

Verbatim

A

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

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11
Q

E pluribus unum

A

Part of Speech: Phrase

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

Origin: Latin

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12
Q

prima donna

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Italian

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13
Q

avant-garde

A

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

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14
Q

status quo

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Latin

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15
Q

joie de vivre

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: She displays a true joie de vivre

Origin: French

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16
Q

carte blanche

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Unconditional authority; full discretionary power

Origin: French

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17
Q

caveat emptor

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Latin

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18
Q

Alpha and omega

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: God is the alpha and omega

Origin: Greek

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19
Q

tabula rasa

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Latin

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20
Q

hoi polloi

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Greek

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21
Q

ad nauseam

A

Part of Speech: adverb

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

Origin: Latin

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22
Q

carpe diem

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: Latin

23
Q

tempus fugit

A

Part of Speech: phrase

Example: Tempus fugit when you’re having fun

Origin: Latin

24
Q

c’est la vie

A

Part of Speech: Noun

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

Origin: French

25
Q

bona fide

A

Part of Speech: Adjective

Example: The museum has a bona fide sample of Lincoln’s handwriting

Origin: Latin

26
Q

savoir faire

A

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

27
Q

non sequitur

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: We had been discussing plumbing, so her remark about astrology was a real non sequitur.

Origin: Latin

28
Q

id est (i.e.)

A

Part of Speech: Adverb

Example: I’m going to the place where I work best, i.e., the coffee shop.

Origin: Latin

29
Q

enfant terrible

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The spoiled child was enfant terrible

Origin: French

30
Q

terra firma

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: After our stormy voyage, we were relieved to set foot on terra firma.

Origin: Latin

31
Q

vox populi

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The speaker’s address got barely a whisper from the vox populi

Origin: Latin

32
Q

ad hoc

A

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

33
Q

cause celebre

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The question of the draft was a cause célèbre in the 1960s.

Origin: French

34
Q

magnum opus

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Moby Dick was Melville’s magnum opus

Origin: Latin

35
Q

persona non grata

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: He has become persona non grata in our club

Origin: Latin

36
Q

quid pro quo

A

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

37
Q

je ne sais quoi

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: She has a certain je ne sais quoi that charms everybody

Origin: French

38
Q

modus operandi

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Her modus operandi in buying a new car always included a month of research.

Origin: Latin

39
Q

Nom de plume

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Samuel Clemens nom de plume is Mark Twain

Origin: French

40
Q

haute couture

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The new I-Phone is a god send to techies everywhere – hot technology meets haute couture

Origin: French

41
Q

Mea culpa

A

Part of Speech: Interjection

Example: I gave you the wrong directions to my house – mea culpa

Origin: Latin

42
Q

raison d’etre

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Professor Naylor argues that in the nuclear age, infantry forces have lost their raison d’être

Origin: French

43
Q

laissez faire

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: People who support a laissez faire system are against minimum wages, duties, and any other trade restrictions

Origin: French

44
Q

bete noire

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Tax shelters have long been the bête noire of reformers

Origin: French

45
Q

en masse

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The protesters marched en masse to the capitol.

Origin: French

46
Q

in absentia

A

Part of Speech: Adverb

Example: The man was tried and convicted in absentia

Origin: Latin

47
Q

sub rosa

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: The meeting was held sub rosa, due to the sensitive nature of its content

Origin: Latin

48
Q

schadenfreude

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: To feel envy is human, to savor schadenfreude is devilish

Origin: German

49
Q

noblesse oblige

A

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

50
Q

sine qua non

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.

Origin: Latin

51
Q

deus ex machina

A

Part of Speech: Noun

Example: Only a deus ex machina could resolve the novel’s thorny crisis.

Origin: New Latin

52
Q

doppelganger

A

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

53
Q

coup d’etat

A

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

AP English (16 decks)

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