French word used in english sentences

You’re probably aware that we regularly use plenty of French words in English.

But did you know that English is so close to the French language, that around 30% of English words come from the language of love?

Some of these French phrases in English (otherwise known as cognates!) are borrowed directly from the French language, while others have evolved from French origins.

We’ve put together some responses to some of the most common questions about the French presence in the English language for you, plus 99 examples of how English words didn’t fall too far from the French tree. 

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Why are there French words in the English language?

The origin of the English language is a topic linguists love to debate.

Although English is a Germanic language, it shares a lot of vocabulary with French – a Romance language.

But why?

The Norman Conquest of 1066 was a key event that led to French words being used in England.

Following the conquest, England was ruled by the Normans who spoke a northern form of Old French called Anglo-Norman French.

Under Norman rule, Anglo-Norman French began to influence the language of administration, law and culture in England, and hence making its mark on the English language.

Since then, French phrases and words – funny quirks and all – continued to make their way into the English language.

And French isn’t the only language that has made its mark on the English language. There are plenty of Spanish words in English, and a good handful of Japanese words in English, too.

How many French words are there in English? 

There exists around 7,000 French words in the English language at present.

Believe it or not, though, there were plenty more English words that came from French (and typically Latin) roots originally – around 10,000, to be exact.

Do any examples come to mind? At this point, I’m sure you’re desperate to see some examples of English words with French origins… 

Let’s start with 99 (we thought any more might be a bit much!).

Here are 99 common French words used in English, and their meaning

1. Allowance – from the Old French word alouance (payment)
2. Apostrophe – from the French word apostrophe
3. Attaché – from the French word attaché (attached)
4. Apéritif – from the French word apéritif 
5. Avant-garde – from the French word avant-garde
6. Aviation – from the French word aviation
7. Bachelor – from the Anglo-Norman word bacheler (bachelier in modern French)
8. Baguette – from the French word baguette (stick)
9. Ballet – from the French word ballet
10. Beret – from the French word béret
11. Bon voyage – from the French phrase bon voyage (have a good journey)
12. Brunette – from the French word brunette
13. Bureau – from the French word bureau (desk, office)
14. Cabaret – from the French word cabaret
15. Cadet – from the French word cadet
16. Champagne – from the French word champagne
17. Chauffeur – from the French word chauffeur
18. Chic – from the French word chic (elegant)
19. Cliché – from the French word cliché
20. Connoisseur – from the French word connoisseur
21. Cul-de-sac – from the French word cul-de-sac (bottom of the bag/sack)
22. Debris – from the French word débris (broken, crumbled)
23. Déjà vu – from the French words déjà (already) and vu (seen – past participle of ‘voir’)
24. Delegate – from the Old French word delegat
25. Detour – from the French word détour (from détourner)
26. Dossier – from the French word dossier
27. Eau de toilette – from the French word eau de toilette
28. Elite – from the Old French word elit (chosen)
29. Energy – from the Middle French word énergie
30. En route – from the French en route
31. Envisage – from the French word envisager
32. Expatriate – from the French word expatrier
33. Facade – from the French word façade
34. Faux, as in faux fur – from the French word faux (false)
35. Faux-pas – from the French word faux pas
36. Fiancé – from the French word fiancé
37. Film noir – from the French word film noir (a film genre)
38. Gallery – from the Old French word galerie
39. Gastronomy – from the French word gastronomie
40. Gateau – from the French word gâteau
41. Gazette – from the French word gazette
42. Heritage – from the Old French word eritage (héritage in modern French)
43. Homage – from the Old French word homage
44. Hotel – from the French word hôtel
45. Identity – from the Middle French word identité
46. Illusion – from the Old French word illusion
47. Insult – from the Middle French words insult (noun) and insulter (verb)
48. Irony – from the Middle French word ironie
49. Jubilee – from the Middle French word jubile (modern French jubilé)
50. Kilogram – from the French word kilogramme
51. Lacrosse – from the Canadian French word la crosse (the stick)
52. Laissez-faire – from the French word laissez-faire (leave things to take their course)
53. Liaison – from the French word liaison
54. Literature – from the Old French word littérature
55. Machine – from the Middle French word machine
56. Magnificent – from the Middle French word magnificent
57. Maisonette – from the French word maisonette
58. Massage – from the French word massage
59. Menu – from the French word menu
60. Metabolism – from the French word métabolisme
61. Metro – from the French word métro
62. Musketeer – from the French word mousquetaire
63. Navy – from the Old French word navie
64. Neutral – from the Middle French word neutral
65. Nocturnal – from the Middle French word nocturnal
66. Novel – from the Old French word novel
67. Occasion – from the Middle French word occasion
68. Omelette – from the French word omelette
69. Optimism – from the French word optimisme
70. Papier-mâché – from the French word papier-mâché
71. Parasol – from the French word parasol
72. Poetic – from the Middle French word poétique
73. Premiere – from the French word première
74. Purify – from the Old French word purifier
75. Recipient – from the Middle French word récipient
76. Rendez-vous – from the French word rendez-vous (appointment)
77. Reservoir – from the French word ‘réservoir’ (collection place)
78. Restaurant – from the French word restaurant
79. Ricochet – from the French word ricochet
80. Rich – from the French word riche
81. Ridicule – from the French word ridicule
82. Risqué – from the French word risqué
83. Sabotage – from the French word sabotage
84. Salad – from the French word salade
85. Sentiment – from the Old French word sentement
86. Silhouette – from the French word silhouette 
87. Solicitor – from the Middle French word soliciteur
88. Souvenir – from the French word souvenir (memory)
89. Soufflé – from the French word soufflé
90. Soup – from the French word soupe
91. Technique – from the French word technique
92. Television – from the French word télévision
93. Tournament – from the Old French word tornoiement (tournoiement in modern French)
94. Uniform – from the Middle French word uniforme
95. Utensil – from the Old French word utensile
96. Valid – from the Middle French word valide
97. Variety – from the Middle French word varieté
98. Vinaigrette – from the French word vinaigrette
99. Zest – from the French word zeste

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If you’re an English speaker and you ever thought French was difficult (or a French speaker and ever thought English was difficult!) hopefully, this is something to reassure you: no matter whether you’ve got your French pronunciation accent down or not, the learning process may be easier than you think!

You already have a good understanding of so many French words – why not learn even more today?

There’s so much more to French than these 99 words

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Almost every language nowadays has some words that are borrowed from other languages. It’s fascinating how many languages still use those words in their original forms.

You already know that there are many French words in English that we use on a regular basis.

But, do you know which words exactly?

Today, there are around 10,000 French words that are still used in modern English. You probably know some of them already, but we’re sure that there’s a lot you haven’t heard of.

That’s why we decided to share with you 101 words that are used in English. 

But let’s start from the beginning by understanding how these two languages are connected and why their bond lasts to this date. 

French-English connections

We are going to tell you a short story about French and English connection.

The connection between France and England dates back from 1066 when William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquerant) took over the British throne. 

This is how French became the language of the Anglo-Norman court, the government, and the elite. It also started having a big influence on the administration, law, and culture.

French influence on the English language continued after the Hundred Year’s War.

Today, it is considered that there are around 45% of words in English that originate from the French language. 

French words in English with the same meaning

As you can see, these events in history are the reason French words are used in English today. 

There are, of course, other languages English has borrowed from, but French is the absolute winner with the coverage of about 58% of the English vocabulary. 

In the following paragraphs, you’ll find words that have the same meaning in both French and English and are used in the same situations. 

They are called cognates, or to be more specific,
French cognates.

Disclaimer: The first word is written in English and the second one in French. You will see how many of them are written in the same way.

Food-related words 

There are plenty of food-related English words that come from French. Over the centuries, they’ve changed a bit, getting English characteristics. 

You can find some of them below:

• A la carte — A la carte
• Apéritif – Apéritif 
• Aubergine — Aubergine
• Baguette – Baguette
• Café — Café
• Cornichon — Cornichon
• Champagne – Champagne
• Gastronomy – Gastronomie
• Gateau – Gâteau
• Menu – Menu
• Omelette – Omelette
• Picnic- Picnic
• Restaurant – Restaurant
• Salad – Salade
• Soufflé – Soufflé
• Soup – Soupe
• Vinaigrette – Vinaigrette

Fashion and appearance

It’s a known fact that France is the centre of fashion and style. Therefore, it’s not so strange that many words in English concerning fashion come from French.

Let’s take a look at some of them:

• Beret – Béret
• Boutique- Boutique
• Brunette – Brunette
• Chic – Chic meaning elegant
• Couture- Couture
• Eau de toilette – Eau de toilette
• Faux- Faux; meaning false
• Silhouette – Silhouette
• Uniform – Uniforme

Art, culture, and language

We can’t finish this article without mentioning some borrowed words concerning art, culture, and language.

Here they are:

• Apostrophe– Apostrophe
• Attaché– Attaché; literally meaning attached
• Avant-garde – Avant-garde, used mainly in arts
• Ballet – Ballet
• Film noir – Film noir, in the meaning ‘a film genre
• Gallery – Galerie
• Genre- Genre
• Irony – Ironie
• Gazette – Gazette
• Papier-mâché – Papier-mâché
• Poetic – Poétique, used in the Middle French 

Other French words used in English

There are many more borrowed words that are used in everyday conversations.

Here are some of them:

• Allowance – from the Old French word alouance, which means payment
• Aviation – Aviation
• Bachelor – Bachelier 
• Bon voyage – Bon voyage; translated to English, it means ‘have a good journey.’
• Bouquet- Bouquet
• Bureau – Bureau; it means ‘desk,’ or ‘office.’
• Cabaret – Cabaret
• Carte blanche — Carte blanche; it usually means ‘granting unlimited authority.’ Literally, it can be translated as  ‘white card’, as in a blank check
• Chauffeur – Chauffeur
• Cliché –Cliché, which means a phrase that is overused
• Connoisseur – Connoisseur
• Crème de la crème- Crème de la crème; this expression comes from Latin ‘le nec plus ultra’. It can be translated as ‘cream of the cream’ and represents the best person or a thing of a particular kind.
• Cul-de-sac – Cul-de-sac; in English, it means ‘the bottom of the bag/sack.’
• Debris – Débris; the literal meaning in English is ‘broken, crumbled.’
• Déjà vu –Déjà vu; from déjà (already) and vu (seen – past participle of ‘voir’)
• Delegate – Delegat
• Detour – Détour; from French verb détourner, which means ‘divert.’
• Dossier – Dossie
• Elite – Elit; it comes from the Old French, which means ‘chosen.’
• Energy – Énergie
• Entrepreneur — Entrepreneur
• En route – En route
• Et voilà ! — Et voilà ! It’s used to call attention when something is completed or done with success
• Expatriate – from the French word expatrier
• Facade – Façade
• Faux pas — Faux pas; or in English ‘false step’ 
• Fiancé – Fiancé
• Heritage – Eritage, or Héritage in modern French
• Homage – Homage
• Hotel – Hôtel
• Identity – Identité
• Illusion – Illusion
• Insult – Insult (noun), Iinsulter (verb)
• Jubilee – Jubilé 
• Kilogram – Kilogramme
• Lacrosse – La crosse; this word in Canadian French means ‘the stick.’
• Laissez-faire – Laissez-faire; translated to English, it means ‘leave things to take their course.’
• Liaison – Liaison
• Machine – Machine
• Magnificent – Magnificent
• Maisonette – Maisonette
• Massage – Massage
• Metabolism – Métabolisme
• Metro –Métro
• Mirage- Mirage; a natural phenomenon caused by atmospheric optics and the Sun’s rays.
• Musketeer – Mousquetaire
• Navy – Navie
• Neutral – Neutral
• Nocturnal – Nocturnal
• Novel – Novel
• Occasion – Occasion
• Optimism – Optimisme
• Parasol – Parasol
• Par excellence- Par excellence, which can be translated as ‘by excellence’, and it means the ultimate or quintessential
• Premiere – Première
• Purify – Purifier
• Recipient – Récipient
• Rendez-vous – Rendez-vous, which means appointment or a date
• Reservoir – Réservoir, which can be translated as ‘collection place’
• Ricochet – Ricochet
• Rich – Riche
• Ridicule – Ridicule
• Risqué – Risqué
• Sabotage – Sabotage
• Sentiment – Sentement
• Solicitor – Soliciteur
• Souvenir – Souvenir; this word means ‘memory,’ but it’s widely used as a thing that reminds you of places, events, people, etc.
• Technique – Technique
• Television – Télévision
• Tournament – Tournoiement 
• Utensil – Utensile
• Valid – Valide
• Variety – Varieté
• Vis-à-vis- Vis-à-vis; it means ‘regarding’ or ‘concerning,’ but the equivalent in English can also be ‘face to face.’

French words in English with different meanings

These words are called
false cognates. It means that they are written the same way, but their meanings are different.

Here are some examples of false cognates in French and English. 

• Actor (not a comedian) — Comédien

• Bookstore- Librairie; have in mind that this isn’t a library.

• Currently- Actuelement; note that it isn’t actual(ly)

• (to) Disappoint — Décevoir; not to deceive

• Former- Ancient; in English, it isn’t ancient

• Possible/ Possibly- Éventuelement

• Publisher- Éditeur; be careful; it isn’t an editor in English.

• Sensitive- Sensible; in English, it isn’t ‘sensible’ but ‘sensitive.’

• (to) Summarize- Résumer; note that this word in English isn’t ‘to resume.’

• (to) Take an exam- Passer un examen; pay attention when using this one.

Conclusion

These words are some common ones, but there are many, many more.

As you could see, over history, both languages influenced each other. Not only that, but a significant impact is also seen in their cultures as well.

French played the leading role in modern English, so it’s not so strange that English speakers find it
easy to learn French. So, if you already speak English, then use that to your advantage and
start learning French.

Are you now ready to learn French?

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Even if you’re just starting to study French, believe it or not, you’ve already got a pretty extensive vocabulary! 

The reason for this is over 10,000 English words come from French. Many others come from Latin, the language from which French originated.

This means that a significant number of English words have either exact French counterparts or very similar equivalents in French.

That’s something to celebrate!  But, you might be wondering, just how did all of these French words get into English? How many French words are there in English? Let’s take a look at the French influence on the English language, and how it can help you with French vocabulary today!

When were French words borrowed into English?

In order to understand the way French influenced the English language, you have to know a little bit of history.

In antiquity, Celtic languages were spoken in the British Isles. Then, around 50 CE, most of the territory was invaded by the Romans. “Britannia” became a part of the Roman Empire, and Latin became the language of political and administrative life. 

In the 5^th  and 6^th centuries CE, Germanic tribes, including the Angles and the Saxons, invaded Britain, bringing their language with them.

But Latin remained a strong presence, since it was the language of the powerful and far-reaching Catholic Church (the Germanic tribes had quickly converted to Catholicism).

All religious services and texts were in Latin. This led to words commonly heard during masses and in religious parables becoming a part of everyday vocabulary. 

Some of the Latin words that began to infiltrate the language of British people at this time include “devil” (Latin: diabolus) and “angel” (Latin: angelus). 

Like its fellow Romance languages, French is a form of Vulgarized (that is, spoken by the people and influenced by previously existing local dialects) Latin. This is one of the reasons why there are so many similar words in French and Latin-influenced English. But it’s not the only reason why – not by far.

The main reason for the large number of French words in English can be chalked up to another invasion: the Norman Invasion of 1066, when William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquerant in French) staked his claim to the British throne and won it in the Battle of Hastings.

If you’re an art person, rather than a linguistics or history person, this battle may sound familiar – it’s immortalized on the Bayeux Tapestry. 

After William’s accession to the throne, the royal court was made up of Norman (from Normandy) nobility, who spoke French.

Old English and French coexisted, often quite separately, since most people in Britain never had contact with nobility.

But over time, French words began to creep into English.

These were mainly in areas like law, administration, and, unsurprisingly, food. For example, this excellent (and very funny) video about the history of English points out that while words like “pig” and “sheep” have Germanic roots, their food forms– “pork” (porc) and “mutton” (mouton) – come from French.

A few other French words that entered the English language in this era include sovereign (souverain), justice (justice), and counsel (conseil).

As the centuries went by, English continued to evolve, and and became recognized in its own right. It was used in the daily life of the upper classes and clergy, as well as the commoners. Latin did make a comeback, though. During the Renaissance, cultured people spoke it, and later, in the Age of Enlightenment, Latin was used again when classifying scientific discoveries and phenomena. 

Over the course of its tumultuous history, and English has borrowed from and been influenced by many different languages. But French and Latin have had the most influence. French and Latin words make up 58 % of modern English vocabulary today.  On their own, purely French words make up 29% of English. 

It’s generally thought that around 10,000 words have been borrowed into English from French. Of those, according to this source, there are over 1,700 “true cognates” – that is, words that not only look the same or similar, but have exactly the same meaning in both languages. 

Why is the French (and Latin) influence on English important to French learners?

Sure, etymology is fascinating, and sure, what you’ve just read might make for some fun party conversation (well, depending on what kind of parties you go to…). But is all of this really important? After all, even if you can speak English, that doesn’t mean you can speak French.  

But in fact, knowing this tie to French can help you. For one thing, you may have already experienced reading something in French and realizing that you understood more than you’d expected, because some of the words are the same in both languages.  And on an even more helpful scale, since certain lexical features like suffixes can be the same in French and English, you may be able to guess how to say certain French words.

Six suffixes that are the same in French and English

With that in mind, let’s look at six fairly common suffixes that are the same in both languages. 

Before we do that, though, remember that a suffix is an ending that gives a particular meaning when it’s tacked onto a word. For example, -ly is a suffix in English that indicates a word is an adjective or adverb (examples: lovely, quietly).

Like English, French has many suffixes. A number of these come from Latin. These include:

• -ation. Examples: nation/la nation ; information/l’information
• -tion. Examples: acceleration/l’accélération ; attention/attention
• -ssion. Examples: mission/une mission ; passion/la passion
• -able. Examples : capable/capable ; table/la table ; adorable/adorable
• -isme. Examples: Impressionism/l’impressionnisme ; racism/le racisme
• -if/ive. Examples: furtive/furtif/furtive; creative/créatif/créative

As you can see, not all of these words are identical down to the letter. But knowing that root words in both languages can have these suffixes added to them can be helpful, especially in French conversation. Personally, this rule was one of the things that made speaking French a lot easier for me. If I knew a word in English that had one of these suffixes, there was a good chance that it was the same or similar in French.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’ll no longer have to memorize vocabulary for words with these endings. After all, there are some that don’t follow the rule. Take “vacation” – in French, it’s les vacances.  Still, these common suffixes are good to keep in mind.

French circumflex words and English

Unlike English, the French language involves a lot of diacritical marks. While most accents in French words are used to indicate things like pronunciation, verb tense, or gender, one of them, the circumflex, is basically just a historical marker.

Most French words that have a circumflex once had an “s” after the accented letter. So, for example, the word château was once chasteau. The word forêt was once forest. 

That “once” is a time when French words were being borrowed into English, and so, interestingly enough, many French circumflex words have English counterparts that are very similar, with an “s”. You may already know or have guessed the English equivalents of château and forêt, for example – castle and forest.  

(Before we continue, yes, I know château is also “chateau” in English, but that word has a very specific connotation and isn’t used as a general term the way château is in French.) 

As you can see with château/castle, not all French circumflex words have remained exactly the same in the two languages. And in some cases, like être , there’s no similar English word at all. So, while the tie between French circumflex words and English could be helpful to keep in mind in some cases (forêt/forest; hôtel/hotel; hôpital/hospital; théâtre/theatre, etc.), it isn’t a constant.

But for etymology fans like myself, it is a pretty neat tie to history, at the very least.  

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False cognates – and why they exist in the first place

Some English and French words are written the same way or very similarly but have evolved to have very different meanings. 

One of the most notorious of these faux amis is préservatif, which does not mean “preservative” in French, but…condom. Misusing this word is one of the most awkward French mistakes you can make! 

So, the moral here is to still learn your vocabulary. But if you’re in a bind, you have a good chance of being able to find an equivalent French word if it contains one of those six suffixes I mentioned, or is related to a French circumflex word.

You may be wondering why faux amis exist at all, since English borrowed words directly from French and Latin. The answer is, it’s simply because of how language evolves. Even in English itself, certain words have changed meaning over time or have additional connotations than they previously did. A very interesting example of this – in both languages – is the word “gay”.  

“Gay” was borrowed into English from the French gai (joyful, flashy).  Over the 20^th century, it came to have an additional meaning in English: homosexual. Today, this is the dominant connotation that comes to mind for most English-speakers. The English “gay” has been borrowed back into French, where it also means “homosexual.” The French word gai(e) still means “happy” in French, although some francophones, including those in Quebec, also use this spelling instead of “gay”.

One of the most important things that etymology can teach us is that words are always evolving. While they’re being spoken and used by human beings, languages are living things. Faux amis aside, that’s pretty cool.

French words that are the same in English

Still, there are many words in English and French that are the same or very similar, both in spelling and meaning. Here’s a list of some of the most common. If you want to go further, at the end of this article, you’ll find a link to an extremely long and thorough alphabetical list. 

French food and dining words that are the same in English

Many English food-related words originally came from French, but a majority of these have changed a bit over the centuries, to be pronounced and written in a more Anglophone way. 

A good example of this are the words derived from the French word and verb dîner, which include dinner, diner, and dinette, as well as the verb “to dine”. 

You’ll notice, first of all, that all of these words are pronounced differently than their French ancestors. You’ll also notice that their meanings have expanded from these two original borrowed words: “dinner” and “to dine” are the counterparts of le dîner and dîner, respectively, but a diner and dinette are types of restaurant.

Interestingly, “dinette” is also a French word, but it’ s a classic example of a faux ami.  In French, une dinette in French is a child’s tea party set or set of plastic food toys.  (It can also mean a light, late evening meal, although I’ve personally never heard it used that way, for what it’s worth.)

This being said, there are other French words related to food and dining whose meaning and spelling have remained more or less the same in French and English. A number of these were borrowed into English in recent centuries, when French cooking became a hallmark of class for Anglophones. 

Here are some of the most common food- and dining -related words that are the same (or extremely similar) in French and English:

• à la carte : when you want to order individual dishes which are not part of a pre-established sequence of courses.
• menu
• apéritif
• café (a type of restaurant)
• picnic 
• salade
• soupe
• omelette
• bon appétit
• hors d’œuvre
• vinaigrette
• restaurant
• alcool (This word was originally borrowed into French from Arabic, by way of Latin)
• chef (This means boss in French and not only “cook”.)

British English speakers also often use some common French food words, including: 

• cornichon
• gateau
• courgette
• aubergine

French fashion and appearance words that are the same or similar in English

Every culture has its trends, fashions, and notions of beauty, but France has an international reputation for expertise in this area. It’s no wonder, then, that so many French words related to fashion and appearance have been borrowed into English. Here’s a list of some of the most common -including one that’s a very recent addition to the English language:

• prêt-à-porter
• chic
• couture
• silhouette
• petite
• faux (usually used to describe synthetic fur (faux fur), as opposed to fur from an animal)
• sans fard – If you’re a fan of pop culture and celebrity gossip, you’ve probably come across this term in recent years. “Sans fard” (sometimes written “sans fards”) means “without makeup” and describes a photo where a person is wearing no makeup, and may not even be groomed in a glamorous way (for example, unbrushed hair, etc.). Of course, sans fard photos aren’t always truthful – many celebrities have been called out for abusing the term, since they are wearing at least very basic makeup and have their hair done in the shot.

French art and culture words that are the same or similar in English

Here are some French words that you’ll often hear or come across (or use) in English. 

• Art Nouveau 
• avant-garde
• bas-relief
• film noir
• matinee (Note that in French, this word is most commonly used as a way to say “morning”.)
• papier mâché (For many English speakers, this is written slightly differently: papier mache)
• trompe l’oeil

In addition to artistic movements like Art Nouveau and Art Deco, which keep their French names in English,  many artistic movements are written in a similar way in French and English. One of the main reasons for this is the suffix -ism/-isme.  Here are a few examples:

• Impressionism/impressionnisme
• Realism/réalisme
• Surrealism/surréalisme
• Cubism/cubisme

You can find many other French words related to culture and the arts, including classical dance-related vocabulary on this excellent and extensive list.  

Other common French words used in English

Some French words we use in English, like repertoire and protégé, don’t have exactly the same meaning in both languages – or at least, not the same primary meaning. For example, répertoire in French is most commonly used to describe a list of phone numbers; protégé means “protected” in French).  But many other French words in English are used the same way in French, more or less. Here are some of them:

• bourgeois
• brunette
• blond(e)
• adieu
• au contraire
• chauffeur
• chic
• critique
• depot
• déjà vu
• (eau de) cologne
• eau de toilette
• en route
• entrepreneur
• fiancé (Note that while in English, this can refer to a man or a woman, in French, a female person someone is engaged to is fiancée, the word’s feminine form.)
• genre
• laissez-faire
• maître d’ (this is used in its complete form, maître d’hôtel, in French)
• joie de vivre
• toilette
• nouveau riche
• faux pas
• je ne sais quoi
• carte blanche
• voyeur
• R.S.V.P (Many English-speakers don’t realize this is an abbreviation of Répondez s’il vous plait)
• souvenir
• par excellence
• potpourri
• Bon voyage (learn more here)
• cliché (Note that in French, in addition to its most well-known meaning, cliché is another way to say “photo”)
• au pair
• femme fatale
• bouquet
• boutique
• coup
• milieu 
• ménage à trois
• bon vivant
• bon mot
• coup d’état
• de rigueur
• savoir-faire
• tête à tête
• Voila (I usually see the word written without an accent in English, but remember that it’s actually written like this in French: Voilà).
• du jour

These are just the most common French words used in English, but there are many more, especially if you’re watching or reading something featuring educated, possibly pretentious characters – or spending time with them in real life.  You can find a more extensive list of French words and expressions in English here. 

The three kinds of French words in English – and where to find them all

The words on our lists are among the most noticeable French words in English, because they haven’t changed (or haven’t changed much) from their original spellings and meanings. But what about the thousands of other French words that are supposed to make up the English language?

Since most of these words have evolved over the centuries, they may still be very similar to their French ancestors, or quite a bit different. Take, for example, one of my favorite English words, “jaunty”, which evolved in both spelling and meaning from the French word gentil. 

You can find an alphabetical list of French words in English, including these original borrowings that have evolved away from their French forms, here.  

And of course, don’t forget the English words that have a counterpart in French thanks to Latin. You can see some of those on this list. 

Do you have a favorite French word or expression that’s used in English? Are there any words these lists that surprised you? If so, why not try to use them today?

Having a déjà-vu? Well perhaps it’s because you read our list of words the English language has borrowed from German. But it was so fun researching and writing that article that we decided to do the same for French, which—with the Norman occupation of England in the 1100’s—has had a profound impact upon the English language.

French and English also share many Latin influences and as a result, the two languages overlap in many interesting ways. So, with that said, here are our 25 favorite French words used in English!

P.S. If you’re currently learning French and are looking for powerful study tool to help you master vocab, common phrases, and verb conjugations so much more efficiently, check out Brainscape’s certified French flashcards.

1. Déjà-vu

Déjà = already
Vu (passé composé form of voir = to see) = seen
Already seen (before).

2. à la mode (not used as such in French)

à (preposition) = in(to), at
La mode = way, style
In the way (style) of.

3. Cul-de-sac

cul (coll./vulgar) = bottom, ass
de (preposition) = from, of
sac = bag
Bottom (ass) of the bag.

4. RSVP = répondez s’il vous plaît

Répondez, 2nd person plural of répondre = to reply, to answer
S’il vous plaît = please
[However, it is a compound of
s’ (abbrev. of si) = if
il = he/it
vous = you (formal)
plaît (3rd pers. sing. of plaire) = to care for, to please]
Reply, if it pleases you.

5. Chaise longue

Chaise = chair
Longue = long
Long chair.

6. Crème brûlée

Crème = cream
Brûlée (participe passé of brûler = to burn) = burnt
Burnt cream.

7. Du jour

Du (de = from, of + le = the) = of the
Jour = day
Of the day.

8. Café au lait

Café = coffee
au (à = in; with + le = the) = in/with the
Lait = milk
Coffee with milk.

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9. Carte blanche

Carte = card
Blanche (feminine form of blanc) = white
White card (i.e. blank canvas = complete freedom to act as one wishes)

10. Comme ci, comme ça

Comme = like
ci = this
ça = that
Like this, like that.

11. Eau de toilette

Eau = water
de = from, of
toilette = toilette, wash [toiletter = to groom]
Grooming water.

12. Fait accompli (not used as a stand-alone)

Fait = act, fact
Accompli = accomplished
Accomplished fact.

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13. Femme fatale

Femme = woman
Fatale = fatal, deadly
Deadly woman.

14. Film noir

Film = movie
Noir = black
Black (dark) movie.

15. Foie gras

Foie = liver
Gras = fatty
Fatty liver.

16. Grand Prix

Grand = great, large
Prix = prize
Great prize.

17. Hors d’œuvre

Hors = outside
d’ (de) = from, of
œuvre = work
Outside (of) the work, i.e. not part of the ordinary set of courses in a meal.

18. Joie de vivre

Joie = joy
de = of
vivre = to live
Joy of living.

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19. Laissez-faire

Laissez, 2nd pers. plural of laisser = to let, to leave
Faire = to do
Let do, i.e. to leave as it; to let be.

20. Ménage à trois

Ménage = household
Trois = three
Household of three (Ha! you were thinking something else?)

21. Objet d’art

Objet = object
Art = art
Object of art.

22. Raison d’être

Raison = reason
être = to be
Reason for being.

23. Vis-à-vis

vis = face
Face to face.

24.  Avant-garde

Avant = before, (in) advance (of)
Garde = guard
Advance guard.

25.  Faux pas

Faux = false, wrong
Pas = step; move
False/wrong step.

Learn French more efficiently

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By OptiLingo • 6 minute read

You Use a Lot of French Words in English

It may surprise you to learn that, as an English speaker, you already know a fair amount of French. And this can help you learn French faster. But knowing what these loanwords and cognates are, you can enhance your French vocabulary quickly. Find out which French words are used in English every day.

Why Is There So Much French in English?

A brief refresher history lesson will help you understand how French came to be one of the foundations for modern English. Linguists often consider the origins of the English language ripe for debate. Ancient cultures in the British Isles spoke Celtic-based languages. The Romans invaded Britain around 50 AD, bringing the Latin language with them. Latin would become an essential language in the public life of Britain during Roman rule.

The Anglo-Saxon invasion in the 5th and 6th centuries involved the introduction of Germanic languages that were responsible for many of the foundations of English. The origins of French words in the English language dates to 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest. The Normans who ruled England spoke a dialect known as Anglo-Norman French. Because of Norman rule, this dialect became an essential part of English culture, as well as law and administration. French words, even some of the quirkier ones, have had a steady place in English ever since.

How Much of English Comes From French

Thanks to the French occupation of the British Isles, English has plenty of vocabulary of French origin. Did you know that well over 10,000 English words come from French? Besides words that come from French, many other English words come from Latin, which French has its origins in.

Many words in English either have close equivalents or exact counterparts in French, which is pretty impressive. Where did all these words come from, anyway? We’ll take a closer look at French’s influence on our language, and you might even build up your vocabulary.

How Many French Words Are in English?

About 7,000 French words are in the modern English language. Initially, there were about 10,000 French-origin words in English.

England’s sometimes-complicated history his given it influences from many languages. However, here are some interesting facts:

• 58% of words in modern English have Latin and French origins
• 29% of words in modern English have entirely French origins
• English and French have 170,000 true cognates, similar or same words with identical meanings in both languages

Common French and English Suffixes

The -tion suffix found in words like action is common to a lot of words in both languages. There are other suffixes that lead to common words, such as:

• -isme, such as le racisme (racism) and l’impressionnisme (impressionism)
• -able, such as adorable, la table, and capable
• -ssion, such as la passion and la mission
• -tion, such as attention or l’accélération
• -if/ive, such as créative or furtive
• -ation, such as l’information and la nation

Although these words are not always identical, they are often similar enough despite the article used or slight spelling differences in the suffix. Although you will still need to learn the necessary vocabulary, understanding the use of common suffixes is an excellent way to learn more of the words you need to know.

Cuisine and Food Terms That Come From French

• À la carte – Ordering individual dishes off the menu, without following a specific course
• Alcool – A word for alcohol that comes from Arabic, with a Latin base
• Apéritif – An alcoholic beverage consumed before the main meal
• Bon Appétit – Enjoy your meal
• Café – In French, this refers to a special type of restaurant
• Chef – In French, this word translates more closely to “boss” than just “cook”
• Hors d’œuvre – Usually an appetizer, but can refer to any small savory dish
• Maître d’hôtel – restaurant staffer in charge of servers and buspeople
• Menu – Basically the same as in English, although it may refer to determined items served as courses or a’ la carte items
• Vinaigrette – A salad dressing consisting of oil, wine vinegar, and spices

Other exact words include menu, picnic, and restaurant. Salade and soupe have the same meanings in both languages, with a different spelling. Some French food-related words British English speakers use include aubergine (eggplant), cornichon (pickles), courgette (zucchini), and gâteau (cake).

Fashion-Related French Words Used in English

France has a long history of involvement with fashion, and it is easy to see its involvement through the use of some common words and phrases. Here are some of the most common words and their original meanings:

• Blond/blonde, brunette -Many are surprised to learn that the names for these hair colors have French roots
• Boutique – A store selling stylish clothing, jewelry, and luxury goods
• Chic – Usually used to describe something stylish and sophisticated
• Couture – Made-to-measure or customized designs
• Eau de cologne/toilette – Cologne or perfume
• Faux – Synthetic, usually referring to fake “fur” or “leather”
• Petite – A small clothing size geared towards small women
• Prêt-à-porter – Clothing made “ready to wear”, instead of “made-to-measure”
• Sans fard – Photos of celebrities appearing without or with very minimal makeup and without their hair styled
• Silhouette – The outline and dark shape that appears against a lighter background

Artistic and Cultural French Words Used in English

France has been at the forefront of the art world for centuries. Here are the exact meanings of some terms used in artistic or cultural settings:

• Art Nouveau – Modern art
• Avant-Garde – Experimental art
• Bas-relief – Sculpture attached to a solid background
• Film noir – Thriller or detective movies
• Genre – A specific film type, such as drama, horror, action, etc.
• Matinée – A daytime film screening or theatrical performance
• Papier mâché – Paper material, possibly reinforced with textiles, used in art
• Trompe-l’œil – Art that creates a visual illusion

Other terms in the art world that are similar include cubisme (cubism), impressionisme (impressionism), realisme (realism), and surrealisme (surrealism).

Other Familiar French Words

Some French words are used essentially the same way in both languages and are a part of everyday vocabulary. Common words that require no explanation are:

• Au pair
• Bouquet
• Chauffeur
• Déjà vu
• Dépôt
• En route
• Entrepreneur
• Par excellence
• Pot pourri
• R.S.V.P. (for Répondez s’il vous plaît)
• Souvenir
• Voilà

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern English. English words of French origin, such as art, competition, force, machine, and table are pronounced according to English rules of phonology, rather than French, and are commonly used by English speakers without any consciousness of their French origin.

This article, on the other hand, covers French words and phrases that have entered the English lexicon without ever losing their character as Gallicisms: they remain unmistakably «French» to an English speaker. They are most common in written English, where they retain French diacritics and are usually printed in italics. In spoken English, at least some attempt is generally made to pronounce them as they would sound in French; an entirely English pronunciation is regarded as a solecism.

Some of them were never «good French», in the sense of being grammatical, idiomatic French usage. Some others were once normal French but have become very old-fashioned, or have acquired different meanings and connotations in the original language, to the extent that they would not be understood (either at all, or in the intended sense) by a native French speaker.

Used in English and French[edit]

A[edit]

à la

short for (ellipsis of) à la manière de; in the manner of/in the style of^[1]

à la carte

lit. «on the card, i.e. menu»; In restaurants it refers to ordering individual dishes «à la carte» rather than a fixed-price meal «menu». In America «à la Carte Menu» can be found, an oxymoron and a pleonasm.

à propos

regarding/concerning (the correct French syntax is à propos de)

aide-de-camp

lit. «camp helper»; A military officer who serves as an adjutant to a higher-ranking officer, prince or other high political dignitary.

aide-mémoire

lit. «memory aid»; an object or memorandum to assist in remembrance, or a diplomatic paper proposing the major points of discussion

amour propre

«Self-love», Self-respect.

amuse-bouche or amuse-gueule

lit. «mouth-amuser»; a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre. In France, the exact expression used is amuse-gueule, gueule being slang for mouth (gueule is the mouth of a carnivorous animal; when used to describe the mouth of a human, it is vulgar—akin to «gob»— although the expression in itself is not vulgar). The expression refers to a small mouthful of food, served at the discretion of the chef before a meal as an hors d’oeuvre or between main courses.

ancien régime

a sociopolitical or other system that no longer exists, an allusion to pre-revolutionary France (used with capital letters in French with this meaning: Ancien Régime)

aperçu

preview; a first impression; initial insight.

apéritif or aperitif

lit. «[drink] opening the appetite», a before-meal drink.^[2] In colloquial French, un apéritif is usually shortened to un apéro.

appellation contrôlée

supervised use of a name. For the conventional use of the term, see Appellation d’origine contrôlée

appetence

1. A natural craving or desire 2. An attraction or affinity; From French word «Appétence», derived from «Appétit» (Appetite). In French, belongs to high-level language.

après moi, le déluge

lit. «After me, the deluge», a remark attributed to Louis XV of France in reference to the impending end of a functioning French monarchy and predicting the French Revolution. It is derived from Madame de Pompadour’s après nous, le déluge, «after us, the deluge». The Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, famously known as the «Dambusters», uses this as its motto.

arête

a narrow ridge. In French, also fishbone; edge of a polyhedron or graph; bridge of the nose.

armoire

a type of cabinet; wardrobe.

arrière-pensée

ulterior motive; concealed thought, plan, or motive.

art nouveau

a style of decoration and architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It takes a capital in French (Art nouveau).

attaché

a person attached to an embassy; in French it is also the past participle of the verb attacher (= to fasten, to tighten, to be linked)

attaque au fer

an attack on the opponent’s blade in fencing, e.g. beat, expulsion, pressure.

au contraire

on the contrary.

au courant

up-to-date; abreast of current affairs.

au fait

being conversant in or with, or instructed in or with.

au gratin

«with gratings», anything that is grated onto a food dish. In English, specifically ‘with cheese’.

au jus

lit. «with juice», referring to a food course served with sauce. Often redundantly formulated, as in ‘Open-faced steak sandwich, served with au jus.’ No longer used in French, except for the colloquial, être au jus (to be informed).

au naturel

1. a. Nude. b. In a natural state: an au naturel hairstyle. 2. Cooked simply. Also used in French heraldry to mean «proper» i.e. in natural colours.

au pair

a young foreigner who does domestic chores in exchange for room and board. In France, those chores are mainly child care/education.

au revoir !

«See you later!» In French, a contraction of Au plaisir de vous revoir (‘to the pleasure of seeing you again’).

au sec

lit. «almost dry», reducing liquid to the point of almost dry but food is still moist.

avant-garde (pl. avant-gardes)

applied to cutting-edge or radically innovative movements in art, music and literature; figuratively ‘on the edge’, literally, a military term, meaning ‘vanguard’ (which is a corruption of avant-garde) or «advance guard», in other words, «first to attack» (antonym of arrière-garde).

avant la lettre

used to describe something or someone seen as a forerunner of something (such as an artistic or political movement) before that something was recognized and named, e.g., «a post-modernist avant la lettre», «a feminist avant la lettre». The expression literally means «before the letter», i.e., «before it had a name». A French modern alternative form of this expression is avant l’heure.

avoirdupois

used in Middle English, avoir de pois = commodities sold by weight, alteration of Old French aveir de peis = «goods of weight». In Modern French, only used to refer to English weight measures, as in une livre avoirdupois (1 lb. avdp) as opposed to une livre troy (1 lb. troy).

B[edit]

baguette

a long, narrow loaf of bread with a crisp crust, often called «French bread» or «French stick» in the United Kingdom. In French, a baguette is any long and narrow stick-like object, for example a «chopstick». Also, a rectangular diamond, cut to twenty-five facets.

banquette

a long upholstered bench or a sofa.

beaucoup de

Used interchangeably with the English equivalent of «lots of/many/a great number of». Appropriate when the speaker wants to convey a greater positive connotation and/or greater emphasis. Often used as an informal expression, mostly in small regional dialect-pockets in the Canadian Prairies and the American South, especially in Alberta and Louisiana respectively.::

Beau idéal

lit. «beautiful ideal,» used to suggest the perfect or most supreme version of something to exist. The expression was coined during the late 18th century during the aesthetic period known as classicism. Invoking the balance and refinement of Greek and Roman art and architecture, the term was used for art and architecture that conformed to purity, wholesomeness, equilibrium, and simple elegance.^[3]

Beau geste

lit. «beautiful gesture», a gracious gesture, noble in form but often futile or meaningless in substance. This French expression has been pressing at the door of standard English with only partial success, since the appearance of P. C. Wren’s Beau Geste (1924), the first of his Foreign Legion novels.^[4]

Beaux-Arts

monumental architectural style of the early 20th century made famous by the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

bel esprit (pl. beaux esprits)

lit. «fine mind»; a cultivated, highly intelligent person.

Belle Époque

a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I.

belles-lettres

lit. «fine letters»; literature regarded for its aesthetic value rather than its didactic or informative content; also, light, stylish writings, usually on literary or intellectual subjects

bien entendu

well understood, well known, obvious – «of course»

bien pensant

lit. «well thinking»; right thinking, orthodox. Formerly implied willful blindness to dangers or suffering faced by others but, nowadays corresponds to «politically correct». The noun form bien-pensance is rarely seen in English.

billet-doux

lit. «sweet note», love letter^[5]

blasé

unimpressed with something because of overfamiliarity, jaded.

bon appétit

lit. «good appetite»; «enjoy your meal».

bon mot (pl. bons mots)

well-chosen word(s), particularly a witty remark («each bon mot which falls from his lips is analysed and filed away for posterity», The European Magazine, August 29 – September 4, 1996)

bon vivant

one who enjoys the good life, an epicurean.

bon voyage

lit. «good journey»; have a good trip!

bourgeois

member of the bourgeoisie, originally councilmen, burghers or even aristocrats living in towns in the Middle Ages. Now the term is derogatory, and it applies to a person whose beliefs, attitudes, and practices are conventionally middle-class.

bric-à-brac

small ornamental objects, less valuable than antiques; a collection of old furniture, china, plates and curiosities. Cf. de bric et de broc, corresponding to English «by hook or by crook», and brack, refuse.

bricolage

to improvise or assemble something useful from what happens to be at hand; to expedite or economize a project with readily available components, versus a kit or outside sources; to reuse spare parts for other than their original purpose; to create something new by arranging old material; to create a new, valuable purpose for an object that has completed its original purpose and would otherwise be discarded. Connotes an intrepid do-it-yourself spirit or clever repurposing. Differs from tinkering which merely modifies an existing arrangement. The term is used metaphorically to describe inventive philosophy, theories, and practices in business and academic fields, where new concepts are found in interactions of old ideas.

brioche

a sweet yeast bun, kind of a crossover between a popover and a light muffin; French also use the term as slang for ‘potbelly’, because of the overhang effect.

bureau (pl. bureaux)

government office; an agency for information exchange. Also means «desk» in French, and in the U.K.

C[edit]

ça ne fait rien

«that doesn’t matter»; rendered as san fairy Ann in British World War I slang.^[6][7]

cache

a collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place (such as in an oubliette). Often used for weapons.

cachet

lit. «stamp»; a distinctive quality; quality, prestige.

café

a coffee shop (also used in French for «coffee»).

café au lait

coffee with milk; or a light-brown color. In medicine, it is also used to describe a birthmark that is of a light-brown color (café au lait spot).

calque

a copied term/thing.

canard

(canard means «duck» in French)

1. an unfounded rumor or anecdote.
2. a leading airfoil attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing.
3. a slang word for «newspaper».
4. a piece of sugar slightly soused with coffee or cognac (or another strong alcohol).

canapé

A small, prepared and usually decorative food, held in the fingers and often eaten in one bite. In French, it can also refer to a «sofa».

carte blanche

lit. «white card» (i.e. blank check); unlimited authority.

carte de visite

lit. «visiting card»; a calling card.

cause célèbre

controversial celebrity issue.

c’est la guerre: «That’s war!», or…

c’est la vie: «That’s life!» or «Such is life!»

Though either foreign expression can be used to say that life is harsh but that one must accept it, the former may imply a more deliberate cause thereof,^[8] while the latter, more accidental.^[9]

chaise longue

a long chair for reclining; sometimes misstated as «chaise lounge»

Champs-Élysées

lit. «Elysian Fields»; Avenue des Champs-Élysées, one of the broadest boulevards in Paris. Often referred to as simply les Champs.

chanteuse

‘(female) singer’, a female singer, especially at a nightclub, bar, cabaret, or diner.^{[10][11][12][13]}

chargé d’affaires

a diplomat left in charge of day-to-day business at a diplomatic mission. Within the United States Department of State, a «chargé» is any officer left in charge of the mission in the absence of the titular chief of mission.

charrette

a collaborative session in which a group of designers draft a solution to a design problem.

chauffeur

driver.

chef d’œuvre

a masterpiece.

cherchez la femme

«look for / seek the woman», in the sense that, when a man behaves out of character or in an otherwise apparently inexplicable manner, the reason may be found in his trying to cover up an illicit affair with a woman, or to impress or gain favour with a woman. This expression was first used in a novel by Alexandre Dumas (père), in the third chapter of Les Mohicans de Paris (1854), in the form of cherchons la femme («let’s look for the woman»). The expression is found in John Latey’s 1878 English translation: «Ah! Monsieur Jackal, you were right when you said, ‘Seek the woman.'» The phrase was adopted into everyday English use and crossed the Atlantic by 1909.^[14]

chez

at the house of: often used in the names of restaurants and the like; Chez Marie = «Marie’s».

chic

stylish.

chignon

a hairstyle worn in a roll at the nape of the neck.

cinéma pur

an avant-garde film movement which was born in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.

cinéma vérité

realism in documentary filmmaking. «Vérité» means «truth».

cliché

originally referred to a printer’s block used to reproduce type, compare the original meaning of stereotype. A phrase that has become trite through overuse; a stereotype.

clique

a small exclusive group of friends; always used in a pejorative way in French and, usually, in English. Often pronounced the same as «click» in British English.

cloisonné

an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects.

commandant

commanding officer of a base, depot or training area. In France, used for an airline pilot (le commandant de bord), in the Army as appellative for a chef de bataillon or a chef d’escadron (roughly equivalent to a major) or in the Navy for any officer from capitaine de corvette to capitaine de vaisseau (equivalent to the Army’s majors, lieutenant-colonels and colonels) or for any officer heading a ship.

comme ci, comme ça

lit. «like this, like that»; neither good nor bad, so-so.

communiqué

lit. «communicated»; an official communication.

concierge

a receptionist at a hotel or residence.

concordat

an agreement; a treaty; when used with a capital C in French, it refers to the treaty between the French State and Judaeo-Christian religions during the French Empire (Napoleon): priests, ministers and rabbis became civil servants. This treaty was abolished in 1905 (law Church-State separation) but is still in use in Alsace-Lorraine (those territories were under German administration during 1871–1918).

confrère (also confrere)

a colleague, an associate^[15]

contre-coup

against the blow. This word describes the repercussion of a physical or mental shock, or an indirect consequence of an event.

contre-jour

against daylight. This word (mostly used in art namely photography, cinema or painting) describes the light that illumines an object from the other side of your own point of view.

contretemps

an awkward clash; a delay.

coquette

a flirtatious girl; a tease.

cordon bleu

(lit. «blue ribbon»). A «cordon bleu» may refer to several things, both in French and in English :

1. A person who excels in cooking.
2. An award given to such a person.
3. An international group of hospitality management and cooking schools teaching French cuisine, founded in France.
4. An escalope of veal, chicken or pork stuffed with ham and cheese, then breaded and fried.

cordon sanitaire

a policy of containment directed against a hostile entity or ideology; a chain of buffer states; lit. «quarantine line».

corniche

a road that clings like a ledge to the side of a cliff or mountain.

cortège

a funeral procession; in French has a broader meaning and refers to all kinds of processions.

coup de foudre

lit. «thunderbolt» («strike of thunder»); a sudden unforeseen event, usually used to describe love at first sight.

coup d’état

political coup, government overthrow

coup de grâce

the final blow that results in victory (lit. «blow of mercy»), historically used in the context of the battlefield to refer to the killing of badly wounded enemy soldiers, now more often used in a figurative context (e.g., business).

coup de main

(lit. «a blow with the hand»), means «help from someone». Example: «Besoin d’un coup de main?» means «Need help?»

coup de maître

stroke of the master, master stroke. This word describes a planned action skilfully done. See also tour de force below

coup de théâtre

a dramatic turn of events.^[16]

coup d’œil

lit. «a blow (or touch) of the eye»; a glance.

couture

litt. sewing. Fashion (usually refers to high fashion). haute couture in French.

couturier

a fashion designer (usually refers to high fashion, rather than everyday clothes design. In French, it means ‘tailor’; a couturière is a seamstress.

crèche

a nativity display; more commonly (in the United Kingdom), a place where children are left by their parents for short periods in the supervision of childminders; both meanings still exist in French.^[17]

crème brûlée

lit. «burnt cream»; a dessert consisting primarily of custard and toasted sugar, that is, caramel.

crème de la crème

best of the best, «cream of the cream», used to describe highly skilled people or objects. A synonymous expression in French is fin du fin.

crème fraîche

lit. «fresh cream», a heavy cream slightly soured with bacterial culture, but not as sour or as thick as sour cream and does not curdle.

crêpe

a thin sweet or savoury pancake eaten as a light meal or dessert.

crêperie

a takeaway restaurant or stall, serving crêpes as a form of fast food or street food, or may be a more formal sit-down restaurant or café.

critique

a critical analysis or evaluation of a work, or the art of criticizing. From Latin criticus, from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikos).

croissant

a crescent-shaped bread made of flaky pastry; in French also the word for crescent.

cul-de-sac

originally «bottom of sack»^[18] and used in English in anatomy since 1738. Used for dead end (street) since 1800 in English, since 14th century in French.^[19] The often heard erroneous folk etymology «arse [buttocks] of the sack» is based on the current meaning of cul in French, but cul-de-sac is used to refer to dead ends in modern French and is not vulgar, though the terms impasse and voie sans issue are more common in modern French.

D[edit]

de rigueur

required or expected, especially in fashion or etiquette.^[20]

de trop

unnecessary, unwanted, or more than is suitable.

déclassé

inferior.

décolleté

a woman’s garment with a low-cut neckline that exposes cleavage, or a situation in which a woman’s chest or cleavage is exposed; décolletage is dealt with below.

décor

the layout and furnishing of a room.

découpage

decoration with cut paper.

demi-glace

a reduced wine-based sauce for meats and poultry.

demi-sec

semi-dry, usually said of wine.

déjà vu

lit. «already seen»: an impression or illusion of having seen or experienced something before.

dénouement

lit. «untying»: the resolution of a narrative.

dépanneur

(Quebec English) a convenience store.

dérailleur

a bicycle gear-shift mechanism.

dernier cri

lit. «latest scream»: the latest fashion.

derrière

lit. «behind»: rear, buttocks.

déshabillé

partially clad or scantily dressed; also a special type of garment.

détente

easing of diplomatic tension.

digestif

a digestive aid, esp., an after-dinner drink, as brandy.^[21]

directeur sportif

lit. «sports director». A person responsible for the operation of a cycling team during a road bicycle race. In French, it means any kind of sports director.

divertissement

an amusing diversion; entertainment.

dossier

a file containing detailed information about a person.^[22] In modern French it can be any type of file, including a computer directory. In slang, J’ai des dossiers sur toi («I have files about you») means having materials for blackmail.

doyen

the senior member of a group; the feminine is doyenne.^[23] Also dean (of faculty, or medicine).

dressage

a form of competitive horse training, in French has the broader meaning of taming any kind of animal.

droit du seigneur

lit. «right of the lord»: the purported right of a lord in feudal times to take the virginity of one of his vassals’ brides on her wedding night (in precedence to her new husband). The French term for this hypothetical custom is droit de cuissage (from cuisse: thigh).

du jour

lit. «of the day»: said of something fashionable or hip for a day and quickly forgotten; today’s choice on the menu, as soup du jour.^[24]

E[edit]

eau de Cologne

a type of perfume, originating in Cologne. Its Italian creator used a French name to commercialize it, Cologne at that time being under the control of France.

eau de toilette

lit. «grooming water». It usually refers to an aromatic product that is less expensive than a perfume because it has less of the aromatic compounds and is more for an everyday use. Cannot be shortened to eau, which means something else altogether in French (water).

eau de vie

lit. «water of life» (cf. Aquavit and whisky), a type of fruit brandy.

écarté

a card game; also a ballet position.

échappé

dance movement foot position.

éclair

a cream and chocolate icing pastry.

éclat

great brilliance, as of performance or achievement. Conspicuous success. Great acclamation or applause.^[25]

écorché

flayed; biological graphic or model with skin removed.

élan

a distinctive flair or style.

élan vital

lit. «vital ardor»; the vital force hypothesized by Henri Bergson as a source of efficient causation and evolution in nature; also called «life-force»

éminence grise

lit. «grey eminence»: a publicity-shy person with little formal power but great influence over those in authority.

en banc

court hearing of the entire group of judges instead of a subset panel.

en bloc

as a group.

en garde

«[be] on [your] guard». «On guard» is of course perfectly good English: the French spelling is used for the fencing term.

en passant

in passing; term used in chess and in neurobiology («synapse en passant.»)

en plein air

lit. «in the open air»; particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.

en pointe

(in ballet) on tiptoe. Though used in French in this same context, it is not an expression as such. A pointe is the ballet figure where one stands on tiptoes. The expression «en pointe», though, means «in an acute angle», and, figuratively, it qualifies the most progressive or modern things (ideas, industry).

en route

on the way. Often written and pronounced «On route» in British English.

enfant terrible

lit. «terrible child»; a disruptively unconventional person.

ennui

A gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom; depression

entente

diplomatic agreement or cooperation. L’Entente cordiale (the Cordial Entente) refers to the good diplomatic relationship between France and United Kingdom before the first World War.

entre nous

lit. «between us»; confidentially.

entrée

lit. «entrance»; the first course of a meal (UK English); used to denote the main dish or course of a meal (US English).

entremets

desserts/sweet dishes. More literally, a side dish that can be served between the courses of a meal.

entrepreneur

a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks.

embonpoint

a plump, hourglass figure.

épater la bourgeoisie or épater le bourgeois

lit. «to shock the middle classes»,^[26] a rallying cry for the French Decadent poets of the late 19th century including Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud.^[27][28]

escargot

snail; in English, used only as a culinary term.

esprit de corps

lit. «spirit of the body [group]»: a feeling of solidarity among members of a group; morale. Often used in connection with a military force.

esprit de l’escalier

lit. «wit of the stairs»; a concise, clever statement you think of too late, that is, on the stairs leaving the scene. The expression was created by French philosopher Denis Diderot.

l’État, c’est moi!

lit. «I am the state!» — attributed to the archetypal absolute monarch, Louis XIV of France.

étude

a musical composition designed to provide practice in a particular technical skill in the performance of an instrument. French for «study.»

étui

small ornamental case for needles or cosmetics.

excusez-moi

«Excuse me».

extraordinaire

extraordinary, usually as a following adjective, as «musician extraordinaire.»

F[edit]

façade

the front of an edifice (from the Italian facciata, or face); a fake persona, as in «putting on a façade» (the ç is pronounced like an s)

fait accompli

lit. «accomplished fact»; something that has already happened and is thus unlikely to be reversed; a done deal.^[29] In French, the term is primarily used in the expression placer/mettre quelqu’un devant le fait accompli, meaning to present somebody with a fait accompli. Also see point of no return.

faute de mieux

for want of better.

faites comme chez vous

Make yourself at home.

faux

false, ersatz, fake.

faux pas

lit. «false step»: violation of accepted, although unwritten, social rules.^[30]

femme fatale

lit. «deadly woman»: an attractive woman who seduces and takes advantage of men for her personal goals, after which she discards or abandons them. It extends to describe an attractive woman with whom a relationship is likely to result, or has already resulted, in pain and sorrow.^[31]

feuilleton

lit. «little leaf of paper»: a periodical, or part of a periodical, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles.

fiancé(e)

betrothed; lit. a man/woman engaged to be married.

film noir

Lit. «black film»: a stylized genre of movies from the 1940s and 1950s with a focus on crime and amorality.

fils

lit. «son»: used after a man’s surname to distinguish a son from a father, as Alexandre Dumas, fils.

fin de siècle

The end of the century, a term which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom turn of the century and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another.

flambé

a cooking procedure in which alcohol (ethanol) is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames, meaning «flamed» in French. Also used colloquially in reference to something on fire or burned.

flambeau

a lit torch.

flâneur

a gentleman stroller of city streets; an aimless idler.

fleur-de-lis

a stylized-flower heraldic device; the golden fleur-de-lis on an azure background were the arms of the French Kingdom (often spelled with the old French style as «fleur-de-lys»).

fleur de sel

lit. «flower of salt», hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans. Is one of the more expensive salts; traditional French fleur de sel is collected off the coast of Brittany most notably in the town of Guérande (Fleur de Sel de Guérande being the most revered), but also in Noirmoutier, Île de Ré and Camargue.

foie gras

fatty liver; usually the liver of overfed goose, hence: pâté de foie gras, pâté made from goose liver.

folie à deux

a simultaneous occurrence of delusions in two closely related people, often said of an unsuitable romance. In clinical psychology, the term is used to describe people who share schizophrenic delusions. The derived forms folie à trois, folie à quatre, folie en famille or even folie à plusieurs do not exist in French where «collective hysterics» is used.

force majeure

an overpowering and unforeseeable event, especially when talking about weather (often appears in insurance contracts).

forte

Lit. «strong point» (of a sword). Strength, expertise, one’s strong point.

froideur

coldness (for behavior and manners only).

G[edit]

gaffe

blunder

garage

covered parking

garçon

lit. «boy» or «male servant»; sometimes used by English speakers to summon the attention of a male waiter (has a playful connotation in English but is condescending and possibly offensive in French).

gauche

lit. «left». Clumsy, tactless.

gaucherie

boorishness, clumsiness.

gendarme

a member of the gendarmerie; colloquially, a policeman

gendarmerie

a military body charged with police duties

genre

a type or class, such as «the thriller genre».

gîte

furnished vacation cottage typically in rural France.

glissade

slide down a slope.

Grand Prix

lit. «Great Prize»; a type of motor racing. English plural is Grands Prix.

Grand Guignol

a horror show, named after a French theater famous for its frightening plays and bloody special effects. (Guignol can be used in French to describe a ridiculous person, in the same way that clown might be used in English.)

grenadier

a specialized soldier, first established for the throwing of grenades and later as elite troops.

H[edit]

habitué

one who regularly frequents a place.^[32]

haute couture

lit. «high sewing»: Paris-based custom-fitted clothing; trend-setting fashion

haute école

lit. «high school»: advanced components of Classical dressage (horseback riding); when capitalized (Haute Ecole), refers to France’s most prestigious higher education institutions (e.g., Polytechnique, ENA, Les Mines)

hauteur

lit. «height»: arrogance.^[33]

haut monde

lit. the «high world»: fashionable society.

Honi soit qui mal y pense

«Shamed be he who thinks ill of it»; or sometimes translated as «Evil be to him who evil thinks»; the motto of the English Order of the Garter (modern French writes honni instead of Old French honi and would phrase «qui en pense du mal» instead of «qui mal y pense»). The sentence Honni soit qui mal y pense (often with double n) can still be used in French as a frozen expression to mean «Let nobody think ill of this» by allusion to the Garter’s motto. A more colloquial quasi-synonymous expression in French would be en tout bien tout honneur.

hors de combat

lit. «out of the fight»: prevented from fighting or participating in some event, usually by injury.

hors concours

lit. «out of competition»: not to be judged with others because of the superiority of the work to the others.

hors d’œuvre

lit. «outside the [main] work»: appetizer.

I[edit]

idée fixe

lit. «fixed idea»: obsession; in music, a leitmotiv.

impasse

a situation offering no escape, as a difficulty without solution, an argument where no agreement is possible, etc.; a deadlock.^[34]

ingénu(e)

an innocent young man/woman, used particularly in reference to a theatrical stock character who is entirely virginal and wholesome. L’Ingénu is a famous novella written by Voltaire.

J[edit]

j’accuse

«I accuse»; used generally in reference to a political or social indictment (alluding to J’Accuse…!, Émile Zola’s exposé of the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal that divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s (decade) and involved the false conviction for treason in 1894 of Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Jewish background).

j’adoube

In chess, an expression, said discreetly, that signals the intention to straighten the pieces without committing to move or capturing the first one touched as per the game’s rules; lit. «I adjust», from adouber, to dub (the action of knighting someone).

je ne regrette rien

«I regret nothing» (from the title of a popular song sung by Édith Piaf: Non, je ne regrette rien). Also the phrase the UK’s then Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont chose to use to describe his feelings over the events of September 16, 1992 (‘Black Wednesday’).

je ne sais quoi

lit. «I-don’t-know-what»: an indescribable or indefinable ‘something’ that distinguishes the object in question from others that are superficially similar.

jeu d’esprit

lit. «play of spirit»: a witty, often light-hearted, comment or composition

jeunesse dorée

lit. «gilded youth»; name given to a body of young dandies, also called the Muscadins, who, after the fall of Robespierre, fought against the Jacobins. Today used for youthful offspring, particularly if bullying and vandalistic, of the affluent.^[35]

joie de vivre

«joy of life/living».

L[edit]

l’appel du vide

lit. «call of the void»; used to refer to intellectual suicidal thoughts, or the urge to engage in self-destructive (suicidal) behaviors during everyday life. Examples include thinking about swerving in to the opposite lane while driving, or feeling the urge to jump off a cliff edge while standing on it. These thoughts are not accompanied by emotional distress.

laissez-faire

lit. «let do»; often used within the context of economic policy or political philosophy, meaning leaving alone, or non-interference. The phrase is the shortcut of Laissez faire, laissez passer, a doctrine first supported by the Physiocrats in the 18th century. The motto was invented by Vincent de Gournay, and it became popular among supporters of free-trade and economic liberalism. It is also used to describe a parental style in developmental psychology, where the parent(s) does not apply rules or guiding. As per the parental style, it is now one of the major management styles. Used more generally in modern English to describe a particularly casual or «hands-off» attitude or approach to something,

laissez-passer

a travel document, a passport

laissez les bons temps rouler

Cajun expression for «let the good times roll»: not used in proper French, and not generally understood by Francophones outside Louisiana, who would say profitez des bons moments (enjoy the good moments).

lamé

a type of fabric woven or knit with metallic yarns.

lanterne rouge

the last-place finisher in a cycling stage race; most commonly used in connection with the Tour de France.

lèse majesté

an offense against a sovereign power; or, an attack against someone’s dignity or against a custom or institution held sacred (from the Latin crimen laesae maiestatis: the crime of injured majesty).

liaison

a close relationship or connection; an affair. The French meaning is broader; liaison also means «bond»‘ such as in une liaison chimique (a chemical bond)

lingerie

a type of female underwear.

littérateur

an intellectual (can be pejorative in French, meaning someone who writes a lot but does not have a particular skill).^[36]

louche

of questionable taste, but also someone or something that arouses somebody’s suspicions.^[37]

Louis Quatorze

«Louis XIV» (of France), the Sun King, usually a reference to décor or furniture design.

Louis Quinze

«Louis XV» (of France), associated with the rococo style of furniture, architecture and interior decoration.

M[edit]

macramé

coarse lace work made with knotted cords.

madame

a woman brothel-keeper^[38].^[39] In French, a title of respect for an older or married woman (literally «my lady»); sometimes spelled «madam» in English (but never in French).

mademoiselle

lit. «my noble young lady»: young unmarried lady, miss.

malaise

a general sense of depression or unease. Can also be used to denote complacency, or lethargy towards something.

mange tout

a phrase describing snow peas and snap peas (lit. «eat-all», because these peas can be cooked and eaten with their pod).

manqué

unfulfilled; failed.

Mardi gras

Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the last day of eating meat before Lent.

marque

a model or brand.

matériel

supplies and equipment, particularly in a military context (French meaning is broader and corresponds more to «hardware»)

mauvais quart d’heure

lit. «bad quarter hour»: a short unpleasant or uncomfortable moment.

mdr

Alt., MDR. Abbreviation in SMS, akin to LOL; for mort de rire (mort, adj. or verb, past tense), or mourir de rire (mourir, verb, infinitive). Lit., as adjective or past tense, dead or died of laughing, so «died laughing» or «dying of laughter»; compare mort de faim for starve.

mélange

a mixture.

mêlée

a confused fight; a struggling crowd. In French also: a rugby scrum.

ménage à trois

lit. «household for three»: a sexual arrangement between three people.^[40]

métier

a field of work or other activity; usually one in which one has special ability or training.

milieu

social environment; setting (has also the meaning of «middle», and organized crime community in French).

milieu intérieur

the extra-cellular fluid environment, and its physiological capacity to ensure protective stability for the tissues and organs of multicellular living organisms.

mirepoix

a cooking mixture of two parts onions and one part each of celery and carrots.

mise en place

an assembly of ingredients, usually set up in small bowls, used to facilitate cooking. This means all the raw ingredients are prepared and ready to go before cooking. Translated, «put in place.»

mise en scène

the process of setting a stage with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.; the stage setting or scenery of a play; surroundings, environment.

mise en table

table setting.

montage

editing.

le mot juste

lit. «the just word»; the right word at the right time. French uses it often in the expression chercher le mot juste (to search for the right word).

motif

a recurrent thematic element.

moue

a type of facial expression; pursing together of the lips to indicate dissatisfaction, a pout. See snout reflex.

mousse

a whipped dessert or a hairstyling foam; in French, however, it refers to any type of foam or moss.

N[edit]

naïveté

Lack of sophistication, experience, judgement, or worldliness; artlessness; gullibility; credulity.

né, née

lit. «born»: a man’s/woman’s birth name (maiden name for a woman), e.g., «Martha Washington, née Dandridge.»

n’est-ce pas?

«isn’t it [true]?»

asked rhetorically after a statement, as in «Right?».

noblesse oblige

«nobility obliges»

those granted a higher station in life have a duty to extend (possibly token) favours/courtesies to those in lower stations.

nom de guerre

pseudonym to disguise the identity of a leader of a militant group, literally «war name», used in France for «pseudonym».^[41]

nom de plume

a «back-translation» from the English «pen name»: author’s pseudonym.

Although now used in French as well, the term was coined in English by analogy with nom de guerre.

nonpareil

Unequalled, unrivalled; unparalleled; unique

the modern French equivalent of this expression is sans pareil (literally «without equal»).

nouveau (pl. nouveaux; fem. nouvelle; fem. pl. nouvelles)

new.

nouveau riche

lit. «newly rich»

used to refer particularly to those living a garish lifestyle with their newfound wealth; see also arriviste and parvenu.

nouvelle vague

lit. «new wave.»

Used for stating a new way or a new trend of something. Originally marked a new style of French filmmaking in the late 1950s and early 1960s, reacting against films seen as too literary.

O[edit]

objet d’art

a work of art, commonly a painting or sculpture; also a utilitarian object displayed for its aesthetic qualities

œuvre

«work», in the sense of an artist’s work; by extension, an artist’s entire body of work.

opéra bouffe

comedy, satire, parody or farce.

outré

exceeding the lines of propriety; eccentric in behavior or appearance in an inappropriate way

P[edit]

pain au chocolat

lit. «bread with chocolate.» Despite the name, it is not made of bread but puff pastry with chocolate inside. The term chocolatine is used in some Francophone areas (especially the South-West) and sometimes in English.

pain aux raisins

raisin bread.

panache

verve; flamboyance.

papier-mâché

lit. «chewed paper»; a craft medium using paper and paste.

par avion

by aircraft. In English, specifically by air mail, from the phrase found on air mail envelopes.

par excellence

better than all the others, quintessential.^[42]

parc fermé

lit. «closed park». A secure area at a Grand Prix circuit where the cars may be stored overnight.

parkour

urban street sport involving climbing and leaping, using buildings, walls, curbs to ricochet off much as if one were on a skateboard, often in follow-the-leader style. Originally a phonetic form of the French word parcours, which means «a run, a route» Also known as, or the predecessor to, «free running», developed by Sébastien Foucan.

parole

1) (in linguistics) speech, more specifically the individual, personal phenomenon of language; see langue and parole. 2) (in criminal justice) conditional early release from prison; see parole.

parvenu

a social upstart.

pas de deux

lit. «step for two»; in ballet, a dance or figure for two performers, a duet; also a close relationship between two people.^[43]

pas de trois

lit. «step for three»; in ballet, a dance or figure for three performers.

passe-partout

a document or key that allows the holder to travel without hindrance from the authorities or enter any location.

pastiche

a derivative work; an imitation.

patois

a dialect; jargon.^[44]

père

lit. «father», used after a man’s surname to distinguish a father from a son, as in Alexandre Dumas, père.

peloton

in road cycling, the main group of riders in a race.

petit pois

small peas, often sold in the frozen food aisle.

petite bourgeoisie

often anglicised as «petty bourgeoisie», used to designate the middle class.

la petite mort

lit. «the little death»; an expression for the weakening or loss of consciousness following an intense orgasm.

Pied-Noir (plural Pieds-Noirs)

lit. «black foot», a European Algerian in the pre-independence state.

pied-à-terre (also pied à terre)

lit. «foot-on-the-ground»; a place to stay, generally small and applied to a secondary residence in a city.^[45]

pince-nez

lit. «nose-pincher», a type of spectacles without temple arms.

piste

lit. «trail» or «track»; often used referring to skiing at a ski area (on piste) versus skiing in the back country (off piste).

plage

beach, especially a fashionable seaside resort.

plat du jour

lit. «dish of the day»; a dish served in a restaurant on a particular day but separate from the regular menu.

plongeur (fem. plongeuse)

a male (or female) dishwasher in a professional kitchen.

plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (or plus ça change, plus c’est pareil) (often abbreviated to just plus ça change)

the more things change, the more they stay the same. An aphorism coined by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

point d’appui

a location where troops assemble prior to a battle. While this figurative meaning also exists in French, the first and literal meaning of point d’appui is a fixed point from which a person or thing executes a movement (such as a footing in climbing or a pivot).

porte-cochère

an architectural term referring to a kind of porch or portico-like structure.

poseur

lit. «poser»: a person who pretends to be something he is not; an affected or insincere person; a wannabe.

pot-au-feu

stew, soup.

pour encourager les autres

lit. «to encourage others»; said of an excessive punishment meted out as an example, to deter others. The original is from Voltaire’s Candide and referred to the execution of Admiral John Byng.^[46]

pourboire

lit. «for drink»; gratuity, tip; donner un pourboire: to tip.

prairie

lit. «meadow»; expansive natural meadows of long grass.

prêt-à-porter

lit. «ready to wear»; clothing off the shelf, in contrast to haute couture.

prie-dieu

lit. «pray [to] God»; a type of prayer desk.

prix fixe

lit. «fixed price»; a menu on which multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed price.

protégé (fem. protégée)

lit. «protected»; a man/woman who receives support from an influential mentor.^[47]

provocateur

an agitator, a polemicist.

purée

lit. a smooth, creamy substance made of liquidized or crushed fruit or vegetables.

Q[edit]

Quai d’Orsay

address of the French foreign ministry in Paris, used to refer to the ministry itself.

Quatorze juillet

«14th of July», usually called Bastille Day in English. The beginning of the French Revolution in 1789; used to refer to the Revolution itself and its ideals. It is the French National Day.

quelle bonne idée!

What a good idea!

quel dommage!

What a sad thing! (can be used sarcastically).

quelle horreur!

What a horrible thing! (can be used sarcastically).

quelle surprise!

What a surprising thing! (mostly used sarcastically)

R[edit]

raconteur

a storyteller.^[48]

raison d’être

«reason for being»: justification or purpose of existence.

rapprochement

the establishment of cordial relations, often used in diplomacy.^[49]

reconnaissance

scouting, the military exploration outside an area that friendly forces occupy

Renaissance

a historical period or cultural movement of rebirth

refoulement

the expulsion of persons who have the right to be recognised as refugees.^[50]

reportage

reporting; journalism.

répondez s’il-vous-plaît. (RSVP)

Please reply. Though francophones may use more usually «prière de répondre» or «je vous prie de bien vouloir répondre», it is common enough.

restaurateur

a restaurant owner.^[51]

Rive Gauche

the left (southern) bank (of the River Seine in Paris). A particular mindset attributed to inhabitants of that area, which includes the Sorbonne

roi fainéant

lit. «do-nothing king»: an expression first used about the kings of France from 670 to 752 (Thierry III to Childeric III), who were puppets of their ministers. The term was later used about other royalty who had been made powerless, also in other countries, but lost its meaning when parliamentarism made all royals powerless.

roman à clef

lit. «novel with a key»: an account of actual persons, places or events in fictional guise.^[52]

roué

an openly debauched, lecherous older man.

roux

a cooked mixture of flour and melted butter (or other fat) used as a base in soups and gravies.

S[edit]

sacre bleu

lit. «sacred blue»: a dated French minced oath originating from the blasphemous «sacre dieu!» («Holy god!»). Meant as a cry of surprise or happiness.

French orthography is sacrebleu in one word.

sang-froid

lit. «cold blood»: coolness and composure under strain; stiff upper lip. Also pejorative in the phrase meurtre de sang-froid («cold-blooded murder»).

sans

without.^[53]

sans-culottes

lit. «without knee-breeches», a name the insurgent crowd in the streets of Paris gave to itself during the French Revolution, because they usually wore pantaloons (full-length pants or trousers) instead of the chic knee-length culotte of the nobles. In modern use: holding strong republican views.

sauté

lit. «jumped», from the past participle of the verb sauter (to jump), which can be used as an adjective or a noun; quickly fried in a small amount of oil, stir-fried. ex: sauté of veau.

savant

lit. «knowing»: a wise or learned person; in English, one exceptionally gifted in a narrow skill.

savoir-faire

lit. «know how to do»; to respond appropriately to any situation.

savoir-vivre

fact of following conventional norms within a society; etiquette (etiquette also comes from a French word, étiquette).

sobriquet

an assumed name, a nickname (often used in a pejorative way in French).^[54]

soi-disant

lit. «oneself saying»; so-called; self-described.

soigné

fashionable; polished.

soirée

an evening party.

sommelier

a wine steward.

soupçon

a very small amount. (In French, it can also mean «suspicion».)

soupe du jour

lit. «soup of the day», the particular kind of soup offered that day.

succès d’estime

lit. «success of esteem; critical success»; sometimes used pejoratively in English.^[55]

T[edit]

tableau

chalkboard. The meaning is broader in French: all types of board (chalkboard, whiteboard, notice board …). Refers also to a painting (see tableau vivant, below) or a table (chart).

tableau vivant

lit. «living picture»; the term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist’s models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit.

tenné

orange-brown, «rust» colour, not commonly used outside heraldic emblazoning.

tête-à-tête

lit. «head to head»; an intimate get-together or private conversation between two people.

toilette

the process of dressing or grooming. Also refers in French, when plural (les toilettes), to the toilet room.

torsades de pointes

lit. «twisting around a point», used to describe a particular type of heart rhythm.

touché

lit. «touched» or «hit!»: acknowledgment of an effective counterpoint or verbal riposte; comes from terminology in the sport of fencing. In French has a broader meaning (touched) as «emotionally touched».

tour de force (also tour-de-force)

lit. «feat of strength»: a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment.^[56][57]

tout court

lit. «all short»: typically used in philosophy to mean «nothing else», in contrast to a more detailed or extravagant alternative. For instance, «Kant does not believe that morality derives from practical reason as applied to moral ends, but from practical reason tout court».

tout de suite

right now, immediately. Often mangled as «toot sweet».

tranche

lit. «slice»: one of several different classes of securities involved a single financial transaction.^[58]

triage

during a medical emergency or disaster, the process of determining the priority of medical treatment or transportation based on the severity of the patient’s condition. In recent years, in British English usage, the term has also been used in the sense of to screen or address something at the point of contact, before it requires escalation.

tricoteuse

a woman who knits and gossips; from the women who knitted and sewed while watching executions of prisoners of the French Revolution.

trompe-l’œil

lit. «trick the eye»; photographic realism in fine-art painting or decorative painting in a home.

trou de loup

lit. «wolf hole»; a kind of booby trap.

trousseau

1. The wardrobe of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing, or the bride’s belongings
2. A dowry
3. A hope chest, glory box or its contents

V[edit]

va-et-vient

lit. «goes and comes»; the continual coming and going of people to and from a place.^[59]

venu(e)

an invited man/woman for a show, or «one who has come»; the term is unused in modern French, though it can still be heard in a few expressions like bienvenu/e (literally «well come»: welcome) or le premier venu (anyone; literally, «the first who came»). Almost exclusively used in modern English as a noun meaning the location where a meeting or event is taking place.

vin de pays

lit. «country wine»; wine of a lower designated quality than appellation contrôlée.

vinaigrette

diminutive of vinaigre (vinegar): salad dressing of oil and vinegar.

vis-à-vis (also vis-a-vis)

lit. «face to face [with]»: in comparison with or in relation to; opposed to. From vis, an obsolete word for «face», replaced by visage in contemporary French.^[60] In French, this is also a real estate vocabulary word, meaning that your windows and your neighbours’ are within sighting distance (more precisely, that you can see inside of their home).

vive […]!

«Long live …!»; lit. «Live»; as in «Vive la France !», Vive la République !, Vive la Résistance !, Vive le Canada !, or Vive le Québec libre ! (long live free Quebec, a sovereigntist slogan famously used by French President Charles de Gaulle in 1967 in Montreal). Unlike viva (Italian and Spanish) or vivat (Latin), it cannot be used alone; it needs a complement.

vive la différence!

lit. «[long] live the difference»; originally referring to the difference between the sexes; the phrase may be also used to celebrate the difference between any two groups of people (or simply the general diversity of individuals).

voilà !

lit. «see there»; in French it can mean simply «there it is»; in English it is generally restricted to a triumphant revelation.

volte-face

frenchified form of Italian volta faccia, lit. «turn face», an about-face, a maneuver in marching; figuratively, a complete reversal of opinion or position.

voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?

«Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?» or more appropriately, «Will you spend the night with me?» In French, coucher is vulgar in this sense. In English it appears in Tennessee Williams’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as in the lyrics of a popular song by Labelle, «Lady Marmalade.»

voyeur

lit. «someone who sees»; a Peeping Tom.^[61]

Z[edit]

zut alors!

«Darn it!» or the British expression «Blimey!» This is a general exclamation (vulgar equivalent is merde alors ! «Damn it!»). Just plain zut is also in use, often repeated for effect: zut, zut et zut ! There is an album by Frank Zappa, punningly titled Zoot Allures. The phrase is also used on the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update sketch by recurring character Jean K. Jean, played by Kenan Thompson as well as by John Goodman’s Dan Conner in an episode of Roseanne when Roseanne dresses up in a sexy outfit and has a boudoir photo taken of her as a birthday gift for her husband.

Not used as such in French[edit]

Through the evolution of the language, many words and phrases are no longer used in modern French. Also there are expressions that, even though grammatically correct, do not have the same meaning in French as the English words derived from them. Some older word usages still appear in Quebec French.

à la mode

fashionable; in the US it also describes a dessert with ice cream (as in «apple pie à la mode») or, in some US regions, with cheese. In French, it mainly means «fashionable», «trendy», but is occasionally a culinary term usually meaning something cooked with carrots and onions (as in bœuf à la mode). It can also mean «in the style or manner [of]»^[62] (as in tripes à la mode de Caen), and in this acceptation is similar to the shorter expression «à la». The British English meaning and usage is the same as in French.

accoutrement

personal military or fighting armaments worn about one’s self; has come to mean the accompanying items available to pursue a mission, or just accessories in general. In French, means a funny or ridiculous clothing; often a weird disguise or a getup, though it can be said also for people with bad taste in clothing.

appliqué

an inlaid or attached decorative feature. Lit. «applied», though this meaning does not exist as such in French. However «appliqué inversé» exists and has the same meaning as a reverse appliqué. Also an «applique murale» is a decorative light fixture attached on a wall.

après-ski

lit. «after skiing», socializing after a ski session; in French, this word refers to boots used to walk in snow (e.g. MoonBoots). Commonly used for the same thing as in English in Quebec.

arrêt à bon temps

A counterattack that attempts to take advantage of an uncertain attack in fencing. Though grammatically correct, this expression is not used in French. The term arrêt exists in fencing, with the meaning of a «simple counteroffensive action»; the general meaning is «a stop». A related French expression: s’arrêter à temps (to stop in time).

artiste

a skilled performer, a person with artistic pretensions. In French: an artist. Can be used ironically for a person demonstrating little professional skill or passion in both languages.

au naturel

nude; in French, literally, in a natural manner or way (au is the contraction of à le, masculine form of à la). It means «in an unaltered way» and can be used either for people or things. For people, it rather refers to a person who does not use make-up or artificial manners (un entretien au naturel = a backstage interview). For things, it means that they have not been altered. Often used in cooking, like thon au naturel: canned tuna without any spices or oil. Also in heraldry, meaning «in natural colours», especially flesh colour, which is not one of the «standard» colours of heraldry.

auteur

A film director, specifically one who controls most aspects of a film, or other controller of an artistic situation. The English connotation derives from French film theory. It was popularized in the journal Cahiers du cinéma: auteur theory maintains that directors like Hitchcock exert a level of creative control equivalent to the author of a literary work. In French, the word means «author», but some expressions like cinéma d’auteur are also in use.

bête noire

a scary or unpopular person, idea, or thing, or the archetypal scary monster in a story; literally «black beast.» In French, être la bête noire de quelqu’un («to be somebody’s black beast») means that you’re particularly hated by this person or this person has a strong aversion against you, regardless of whether you’re scary or not. The dictionary of the Académie française admits its use only for people, though other dictionaries admit it for things or ideas too. It also means that one is repeatedly defeated by a person, who is thus considered their archenemy (for instance, «Nadal is the bête noire of Roger Federer»).

boutique

a clothing store, usually selling designer/one off pieces rather than mass-produced clothes. Can also describe a quirky and/or upmarket hotel. In French, it can describe any shop, clothing or otherwise. The expression hôtel-boutique can be used to refer to upmarket hotels, but the word is recent and not as widespread as the equivalent expression boutique hotel.

boutonnière

In English, a boutonnière is a flower placed in the buttonhole of a suit jacket. In French, a boutonnière is the buttonhole itself. Yet the French expression «Une fleur à la boutonnière» has an equivalent meaning.

c’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre

«it is magnificent, but it is not war» — quotation from Marshal Pierre Bosquet commenting on the charge of the Light Brigade. Unknown quotation in French.

cause célèbre

An issue arousing widespread controversy or heated public debate, lit. ‘famous cause’. It is correct grammatically, but the expression is not used in French.

chacun à son goût

the correct expressions in French are chacun ses goûts / à chacun ses goûts / à chacun son goût: «to each his/her own taste(s)».

chanson

a classical «art song», equiv. to the German Lied or the Italian aria; or, in Russian, a cabaret-style sung narrative, usually rendered by a guttural male voice with guitar accompaniment. In French, it can be used to refer to any song, but it also refers to the same music genre as in English (someone practicing this genre being generally called a chansonnier in Quebec, especially if they sing at a restaurant or cabaret).

château

a manor house or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions. The word château is also used for castles in French, so where clarification is needed, the term château fort («strong castle») is used to describe a castle.

chef

in English, a person who cooks professionally for other people. In French the word means «head» or «chief»; a professional cook is a cuisinier (lit. «cook»), chef-cuisinier referring to a head cook. Also, sous-chef, the second-in-command, directly under the head chef. Traditionally, chef used to means the head, for example a «couvre-chef» is a headgear, but by extension it’s often used in job titles, military ranks, for a person in charge or who leads a group of people: «chef d’État» (lit. «Head of State» and «Chief of State»), «chef d’entreprise» («Business executive»), «chef d’orchestre» (Conductor of an Orchestra), «sergeant-chef» (Staff Sergeant), «chef de gare» (stationmaster), «chef de famille» (head of household), etc. More casually in a work context, a chef is a boss.

cinq à sept

extraconjugal affair between five and seven pm. In French, though it can also mean this, it primarily means any relaxing time with friends between the end of work and the beginning of the marital obligations. In Quebec French, it is also used as a synonym for «Happy Hour» by bars and restaurants that serve discounted drinks after working hours.

claque

a group of admirers; in French, «la claque» is a group of people paid to applaud or disturb a piece at the theatre, though the common meaning of «claque» is «a slap»; clique is used in this sense (but in a pejorative way).

connoisseur

an expert in wines, fine arts, or other matters of culture; a person of refined taste. It is spelled connaisseur in modern French (lit. «someone who knows»).

corsage

A bouquet of flowers worn on a woman’s dress or worn around her wrist. In French, it refers to a woman’s chest (from shoulder to waist) and, by extension, the part of a woman’s garment that covers this area.

coup de main (pl. coups de main)

a surprise attack. In French, [donner] un coup de main means «[to give] a hand» (to give assistance). Even if the English meaning exists as well (as in faire le coup de main), it is old-fashioned.

coup d’état (pl. coups d’état)

a sudden change in government by force; literally «hit (blow) of state.» French uses the capital É, because the use of a capital letter alters the meaning of the word (État: a State, as in a country; état: a state of being). It also cannot be shortened as coup as is often the case in English- because this literally means a «hit» in French, but can be used figuratively to mean many more things.

début

first public performance of an entertainment personality or group. In French, it means «beginning.» The English meaning of the word exists only when in the plural form: [faire] ses débuts [sur scène] (to make one’s débuts on the stage). The English meaning and usage also extends to sports to denote a player who is making their first appearance for a team or at an event.

décolletage

a low-cut neckline, cleavage. In French it means: 1. action of lowering a female garment’s neckline; 2. Agric.: cutting leaves from some cultivated roots such as beets, carrots, etc.; 3. Tech. Operation consisting of making screws, bolts, etc. one after another out of a single bar of metal on a parallel lathe. A low-cut neckline, or its shape, would in French be called un décolleté (noun and adjective): un décolleté profond, a deep décolletage; une robe très décolletée, a dress with very low neckline.

démarche

a decisive step. In French, it means a preparing step (often used in the plural form), a specific set of steps to get a specific result (can be used in the singular form, sometimes the expression «marche à suivre» (lit. «step to follow») will be preferred), or a distinctive way of walking.

dépanneur

a neighbourhood general/convenience store, term used in eastern Canada (often shortened to dép or dep). This term is commonly used in Canadian French; however, in France, it means a repairman or tow truck operator. In France, a convenience store would be a supérette or épicerie [de quartier].

émigré

one who has emigrated for political reasons. French also use the word exilé (exiled) or réfugié (refugee) or even «exilé politique» or «réfugié politique».

encore

A request to repeat a performance, as in Encore!, lit. ‘again’; also used to describe additional songs played at the end of a gig. Francophones would say « Une autre ! » (‘Another one!’) or «Bis !» to request « un rappel » or « un bis ».

en masse

in a mass or group, all together. In French, masse refers only to a physical mass, whether for people or objects. It cannot be used for something immaterial, like, for example, the voice: «they all together said ‘get out'» would be translated as ils ont dit ‘dehors’ en chœur ([like a chorus]). Also, en masse refers to numerous people or objects (a crowd or a mountain of things). In colloquial Québécois French, it means «a bunch» (as in il y avait du monde en masse, «there was a bunch of people»).

en suite

as a set (not to be confused with ensuite, meaning «then»). Can refer, in particular, to hotel rooms with attached private bathroom, especially in Britain where hotels without private facilities are more common than in North America. In French, suite, when in the context of a hotel, already means several rooms following each other. J’ai loué une suite au Ritz would be translated as «I rented a suite at the Ritz.» En suite is not grammatically incorrect in French, but it is not an expression in itself and it is not used. Also used in British English to denote a bathroom that is accessible directly from the master bedroom of a house (usually with a connecting door), rather than by a separate entrance.

entrée

lit. «entrance»; in French, the first dish that starts a meal, i.e. the entrance to the meal. It can refer to a set of bites or small snacks, or a small dish served before a main course. The main dish or «plat de résistance» comes after the entrée. In American English, the meaning has migrated to «main dish». In other varieties of English it maintains its French meaning.

épée

a fencing weapon descended from the duelling sword. In French, apart from fencing (the sport) the term is more generic: it means sword.

escritoire

a writing table. It is spelt écritoire in modern French.

exposé

a published exposure of a fraud or scandal (past participle of «to expose»); in French refers to a talk or a report on any kind of subject.

femme

a stereotypically effeminate gay man or lesbian (slang, pronounced as written). In French, femme (pronounced ‘fam’) means «woman.»

fin de siècle

comparable to (but not exactly the same as) turn-of-the-century but with a connotation of decadence, usually applied to the period from 1890 through 1910. In French, it means «end of the century», but it isn’t a recognized expression as such. The French expression «ambiance [de] fin de règne» (lit. «end-of-reign atmosphere») also has a light connotation of boredom and decadence.

forte

a strength, a strong point, typically of a person, from the French fort(e) (strong) and/or Italian forte (strong, esp. «loud» in music) and/or Latin forte (neuter form of fortis, strong). French uses fort(e) for both people and objects.

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, «In forte we have a word derived from French that in its «strong point» sense has no entirely satisfactory pronunciation. Usage writers have denigrated ‘for-«tA and ‘for-tE because they reflect the influence of the Italian-derived forte. Their recommended pronunciation ‘fort, however, does not exactly reflect French either: the French would write the word le fort and would rhyme it with English for [French doesn’t pronounce the final «t»]. All are standard, however. In British English ‘fo-«tA and ‘fot predominate; ‘for-«tA and for-‘tA are probably the most frequent pronunciations in American English.»

The New Oxford Dictionary of English derives it from fencing. In French, le fort d’une épée is the third of a blade nearer the hilt, the strongest part of the sword used for parrying.

hors d’oeuvre

term used for the snacks served with drinks before a meal. Literally «outside of the work». The French use apéritif to refer to the time before a meal and the drinks consumed during that time, yet «hors d’œuvre» is a synonym of «entrée» in French and means the first dish that starts a meal. At home in family circles it means more specifically seasoned salads taken as a starter. In Québécois French, apéritif refers to the drink only, and hors-d’œuvre (usually plural) refers to a set of bites, while an entrée is a small dish (an entrée can be made as hors-d’œuvres, but not all of them are).

la sauce est tout

«The sauce is everything!» or «The secret’s in the sauce!» Tagline used in a 1950s American television commercial campaign for an American line of canned food products. Grammatically correct but not used in French, where one might say Tout est dans la sauce or C’est la sauce qui fait (passer) le poisson.

Lavatoire or Lavatory

A once commonly used British term for a toilet or water closet. Before the age of the internet, it was commonly believed, and widely taught in schools in Britain, that the word Toilet was a rather vulgar, impure, corruption of the French word «Toilettes» and that Lavatory was the correct expression to use because it was much closer in meaning to the French the word it was derived from, «Lavatoire», which was supposed to mean «to wash, or to clean, yourself». Actually, though the word Lavatoire does exist in French, it never meant a toilet or a bathroom. The Lavatoire was the holy stone upon which the bodies of ecclesiastics, priest and members of the clergy, were once washed after their deaths, in order to prepare them for the afterlife, for their journey to heaven.

marquee

the sign above a theater that tells you what is playing. From marquise, which means not only a marchioness but also an awning. Theater buildings are generally old and nowadays there is never such a sign above them; there is only the advertisement for the play (l’affiche). In English, means a temporary structure (often made of canvas or similar material) which is erected to host an event outdoors, especially in the UK, where such events can often be affected by weather conditions (pronounced mar-key).

nostalgie de la boue

«yearning for the mud»; attraction to what is unworthy, crude or degrading.^[63] Though grammatically correct, it is not used in French.

objet trouvé

an ordinary object, such as a piece of driftwood, a shell, or a manufactured article, that is treated as an objet d’art because it is aesthetically pleasing.^[64] In French, les objets trouvés, short for le bureau des objets trouvés, means the lost-and-found, the lost property.

outré

out of the ordinary, unusual. In French, it means outraged (for a person) or exaggerated, extravagant, overdone (for a thing, esp. a praise, an actor’s style of acting, etc.); in that second meaning, belongs to «literary» style.

passé

out of fashion. The correct expression in French is passé de mode. Passé means past, passed, or (for a colour) faded.

peignoir

a woman’s dressing gown. It means bathrobe. In French, both peignoir and robe de chambre are used interchangeably for a dressing gown regardless of sex, though the latter is generally considered formal and the former is generally seen as colloquial. A bathrobe (for either sex, in absorbent material) is un peignoir de bain.

pièce d’occasion

«occasional piece»; item written or composed for a special occasion. In French, it means «second-hand hardware.» Can be shortened as pièce d’occas‘ or even occas‘ (pronounced /okaz/).

portemanteau (pl. portemanteaux)

in English a portmanteau is a large piece of luggage for clothes that opens (like a book or a diptych) into two parts. From this literal sense, Lewis Carroll, in his novel Through the Looking Glass playfully coined a further figurative sense for portmanteau meaning a word that fuses two or more words or parts of words to give a combined meaning. In French, lit. a ‘coat-carrier’, originally a person who carried the royal coat or dress train, now a large suitcase; more often, a clothes hanger. The equivalent of the English/ Lewis-Carroll portemanteau is un mot-valise (lit. a suitcase word). «Brexit» and «emoticon» are modern examples of portmanteau words.

potpourri

medley, mixture; French write it pot-pourri, literally ‘rotten pot’: primarily a pot in which different kinds of flowers or spices are put to dry for years for the scent.

précis

a concise summary. In French, when talking about a school course, it means an abridged book about the matter. Literally, précis means precise, accurate.

première

refers to the first performance of a play, a film, etc. «La première» is used in same way in French, but it more generally means «the first».

raisonneur

a type of author intrusion in which a writer inserts a character to argue the author’s viewpoint; alter ego, sometimes called ‘author avatar’. In French, a raisonneur is a character in a play who stands for morality and reason, i.e., not necessarily the author’s point of view. The first meaning of this word though is a man (fem. raisonneuse) who overdoes reasonings, who tires by objecting with numerous arguments to every order.

recherché

lit. searched; obscure; pretentious. In French, means ‘sophisticated’ or ‘delicate’, or simply ‘studied’, without the negative connotations of the English.

rendezvous

lit. «present yourself» or «proceed to»; a meeting, appointment, or date in French. In English, it generally endorses a mysterious overtone and refers to a one-on-one meeting with someone for another purpose than a date. Always hyphenated in French: rendez-vous. Its only accepted abbreviation in French is RDV.

reprise

repetition of previous music in a suite, programme, etc. and also applied to an actor who resumes a role that they have played previously. In French, it may mean an alternate version of a piece of music, or a cover version, or the rebroadcast of a show, piece or movie that was originally broadcast a while ago (although the term rediffusion is generally preferred, especially when talking about something on television). To express the repetition of a previous musical theme, French would exclusively use the Italian term coda.

résumé

in North American English, a document listing one’s qualifications for employment. In French, it means summary; French speakers would use instead curriculum vitæ, or its abbreviation, C.V. (like most other English speakers).

risqué (also risque)

sexually suggestive; in French, the meaning of risqué is «risky», with no sexual connotation. Francophones use instead osé (lit. «daring») or sometimes dévergondé (very formal language). Osé, unlike dévergondé, cannot be used for people themselves, only for things (such as pictures) or attitudes.

rouge (lit. «red»)

1) a rouge is red makeup, also called blusher. Rouge à lèvres is French for «lipstick», even if the lipstick is not red at all. The French equivalent to the English meaning is «fard à joues»; 2) in Canadian football, a rouge is awarded when the ball is kicked into the end zone by any legal means, other than a successful field goal, and the receiving team does not return or kick the ball out of its end zone.

séance

a gathering, usually using a ‘medium’, attempting to communicate with the dead. In French, the word means ‘sitting’ and usually refers to any kind of meeting or session.

table d’hôte (pl. tables d’hôte)

in English, when used it usually refers to type of meal: a full-course meal offered at a fixed price. However, in French, it refers to a type of lodging: the closest English equivalent would be «a bed & breakfast» or «B&B.» The origin of the meaning (for French speakers) is that at a table d’hôte (literally «table of the house» or «table of the host»), unlike at a full-service purpose-built hotel, all patrons eat together at the host’s table, whatever the family have prepared for themselves (typically traditional regional dishes). Indeed, in France today a lodging labeled «table d’hôte» might perhaps not even offer food; the appellation meaning what an English-speaker would think of as a «bed & breakfast -style» family-home lodging (as opposed to a purpose-built hotel). In Quebec, table d’hôte generally has the same meaning as in English, the expression couette et café (lit. «duvet and coffee») is generally used to talk about B&B style accommodations, where the English expression is not used.

tableau vivant (pl. tableaux vivants, often shortened as tableau)

in drama, a scene where actors remain motionless as if in a picture. Tableau means painting, tableau vivant, living painting. In French, it is an expression used in body painting.

touché

acknowledgment of an effective counterpoint. In French, used for «emotionally touched».

vignette

a brief description; a short scene. In French, it is a small picture or a thumbnail. By extension a vignette is the name of a compulsory road tax in the form of a small sticker affixed to a vehicle windscreen, which is now also used in several European countries.

Found only in English[edit]

aide-de-camp

«camp assistant»; in the army, a military assistant to a senior military officer (heads of State are considered military officers because of their status as head of the army). In Canada, it may also refer to the honorary position a person holds as a personal assistant to a high civil servant. It exists in French too but is written aide de camp (without any hyphens).

apprise

«to inform»; used to substitute the verb to inform when the information is crucial. Its French meaning is the feminine past participle of to learn [apprendre]. In English, when followed by an object it is used with the preposition of. Example without object: Please, apprise me. Example with object: he apprised of it.

cinquefoil

five-petal, five-leaf flower of the genus Potentilla, family Rosaceae; also a circular 5-lobed ornamental design. Spelled quintefeuille in French.

cri de cœur

«cry from the heart»: an impassioned outcry, as of entreaty or protest. In French, the exact expression is cri du cœur.

demi-monde

a class of women of ill repute; a fringe group or subculture. Fell out of use in the French language in the 19th century. Frenchmen still use une demi-mondaine to qualify a woman that lives (exclusively or partially) off the commerce of her charms but in a high-life style.

double entendre

a figure of speech wherein a word or phrases can be taken to have two distinct coherent meanings, most often in a fashion that is suggestive and/or ironic. «Entendre» is an infinitive verb («to hear»), not a noun; a correct rendering would be «à double entente», an adjectival phrase meaning «of a double understanding or double interpretation» (literally, «with a double hearing»). The modern French phrase is «à double sens».

in lieu (of)

«in place (of)»; partially translated from the existing French phrase au lieu (de).

léger de main (legerdemain)

«light of hand»: sleight of hand, usually in the context of deception or the art of stage magic tricks. Meaningless in French; the equivalent is un tour de passe-passe.

maître d’

translates literally as master o’. The French term for head waiter (the manager of the service side of a restaurant) is maître d’hôtel (literally «master of the house» or «master of the establishment»); French never uses «d‘» stand-alone. Most often used in American English and its usage in the UK is rare.

negligée

A robe or a dressing gown, usually of sheer or soft fabric for women, or a nightdress. As with lingerie, the usage of the word suggests the garment is alluring or fancy. French uses négligé (masculine form) or nuisette. In French, the word négligée qualifies a woman who neglects her appearance.

succès de scandale

«Success through scandal»; Francophones might use succès par médisance.

voir dire

a trial within a trial, or (in America) jury selection (Law French). Literally «to speak the truth.»^[65] (Anglo-Norman voir [truth] is etymologically unrelated to the modern French voir [to see].)^[66] In modern American court procedure, the examination of prospective jurors for their qualification to serve, including inherent biases, views and predelictions; during this examination, each prospective juror must «speak the truth» so that counsel and the court may decide whether they should remain on the jury or be excused. In England and Wales, the expression is used to refer to a «trial within a trial», during which a judge hears evidence in the absence of the jury, typically to decide whether a certain piece of evidence should be allowed to be presented to the jury or not. For example, a judge might hold a «voir dire» to determine whether a confession has been extracted from a defendant by an unfair inducement in order to decide whether the jury should hear evidence of the confession or not.

French phrases in international air-sea rescue[edit]

International authorities have adopted a number of words and phrases from French for use by speakers of all languages in voice communications during air-sea rescues. Note that the «phonetic» versions of spelling are presented as shown and not the IPA.

SECURITAY

(sécurité, «safety») the following is a safety message or warning, the lowest level of danger.

PAN PAN

(panne, «breakdown») the following is a message concerning a danger to a person or ship, the next level of danger.

MAYDAY

([venez] m’aider, come to help me»; aidez-moi means «help me») the following is a message of extreme urgency, the highest level of danger. (MAYDAY is used on voice channels for the same uses as SOS on Morse channels.)

SEELONCE

(silence, «silence») keep this channel clear for air-sea rescue communications.

SEELONCE FEE NEE

(silence fini, «silence is over») this channel is now available again.

PRU DONCE

(prudence, «prudence») silence partially lifted, channel may be used again for urgent non-distress communication.

MAY DEE CAL

(médical, «medical») medical assistance needed.

It is a serious breach in most countries, and in international zones, to use any of these phrases without justification.

See Mayday (distress signal) for a more detailed explanation.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Francoise Blanchard, Jeremy Leven. Say Chic: A Collection of French Words We Can’t Live Without. Simon and Schuster. 2007. 144 pages
• Winokur, J., Je Ne Sais What?: A Guide to de rigueur Frenglish for Readers, Writers, and Speakers

External links[edit]

• Communications Instructions, Distress and Rescue Procedures (pdf), Combined Communications-Electronics Board
• Online Etymology Dictionary Archived December 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Harper, D.
• «French words within complete sentences, text + audio files». parisbypod.com.
• Mathematical Words: Origins and Sources (John Aldrich, University of Southampton) See Section on Contribution of French.