173 foreign words and phrases in English language

Over the centuries the English language has assimilated words and phrases from a variety of other languages. In context, those listed here are often printed in italics.

A ab initio	Latin from the beginning
a cappella	Italian sung without instrumental accompaniment (literally ‘in chapel style’)
à deux	French for or involving two people
ad hoc	Latin made or done for a particular purpose (literally ‘to this’)
ad infinitum	Latin endlessly; forever (literally ‘to infinity’)
ad interim	Latin for the meantime
ad nauseam	Latin to a tiresomely excessive degree (literally ‘to sickness’)
a fortiori	Latin more conclusively (literally ‘from a stronger [argument]’)
agent provocateur	French a person who tempts a suspected criminal to commit a crime so that they can be caught and convicted (literally ‘provocative agent’)
à huis clos	French in private (literally ‘with closed doors’)
al dente	Italian (of food) cooked so as to be still firm when bitten (literally ‘to the tooth’)
alfresco	Italian in the open air (literally ‘in the fresh’)
amour propre	French self-respect (literally ‘own love’)
annus mirabilis	Latin a remarkable or auspicious year
a posteriori	Latin based on reasoning from known facts or past events rather than on assumptions or predictions (literally ‘from what comes after’)
a priori	Latin based on deduction rather than experience (literally ‘from what is before’)
au courant	French well informed; up to date (literally ‘in the (regular) course’)
au fait	French having a good or detailed knowledge (literally ‘to the point’)
au fond	French basically; in essence (literally ‘at the bottom’)
au naturel	French in the most simple or natural way
B beau geste	French a noble and generous act (literally ‘fine gesture’)
beau idéal	French the highest standard of excellence (literally ‘ideal beauty’)
beau monde	French fashionable society (literally ‘fine world’)
beaux arts	French the fine arts
bête noire	French a person or thing one particularly dislikes (literally ‘black beast’)
belles-lettres	French literary works written and read for their elegant style (literally ‘fine letters’)
billet-doux	French a love letter (literally ‘sweet note’)
blitzkrieg	German an intense, violent military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory (literally ‘lightning war’)
bona fide	Latin genuine; real (literally ‘with good faith’)
bon mot	French a clever or witty remark (literally ‘good word’)
bon vivant	French a person with a sociable and luxurious lifestyle (literally ‘person living well’)
brasserie	French an informal or inexpensive restaurant (literally ‘brewery’)
C carpe diem	Latin make the most of the present time (literally ‘seize the day!’)
carte blanche	French complete freedom to act as one wishes (literally ‘blank paper’)
cause célèbre	French a controversial issue attracting much public attention (literally ‘famous case’)
caveat emptor	Latin the buyer is responsible for checking the quality of goods before purchasing them (literally ‘let the buyer beware’)
c’est la guerre	French used as an expression of resigned acceptance (literally ‘that’s war’)
chacun à son gout	French everyone to their own taste
chef-d’œuvre	French a masterpiece (literally ‘chief work’)
cherchez la femme	French there is certain to be a woman at the bottom of a problem or mystery (literally ‘look for the woman’)
comme il faut	French correct in behaviour or etiquette (literally ‘as is necessary’)
compos mentis	Latin sane; in full control of one’s mind
cognoscenti	Italian people who are well informed about something (literally ‘people who know’)
cordon sanitaire	French a guarded line placed around an area infected by disease to prevent anyone from leaving (literally ‘sanitary line’)
Cosa Nostra	Italian a US criminal organization related to the Mafia (literally ‘our thing’)
coup de foudre	French love at first sight (literally ‘stroke of lightning’)
coup de grâce	French a blow by which a mortally wounded person or thing is mercifully killed (literally ‘stroke of grace’)
coup de main	French a sudden surprise attack (literally ‘stroke of hand’)
coup d’état	French a sudden violent seizure of power (literally ‘blow of state’)
cri de cœur	French a passionate appeal or protest (literally ‘cry from the heart’)
cui bono?	Latin who stands to gain? (implying that whoever does may have been responsible for a crime; literally ‘to whom (is it) a benefit?’)
D de facto	Latin in fact, whether by right or not
Dei gratia	Latin by the grace of God
déjà vu	French the sense of having experienced the present situation before (literally ‘already seen’)
de jure	Latin rightful; by right (literally ‘of law’)
de nos jours	French contemporary (literally ‘of our days’)
Deo gratias	Latin thanks be to God
Deo volente	Latin God willing
de profundis	Latin expressing one’s deepest feelings (literally ‘from the depths’)
de rigueur	French obligatory; required by etiquette or current fashion (literally ‘of strictness’)
dernier cri	French the very latest fashion (literally ‘the last cry’)
de trop	French not wanted; superfluous (literally ‘excessive’)
deus ex machina	Latin an unexpected event that saves an apparently hopeless situation (literally ‘god from the machinery’)
dolce far niente	Italian pleasant idleness (literally ‘sweet doing nothing’)
dolce vita	Italian a life of pleasure and luxury (literally ‘sweet life’)
doppelgänger	German an apparition or double of a living person (literally ‘double-goer’)
double entendre	French a word or phrase with two possible interpretations (from obsolete French, ‘double understanding’)
dramatis personae	Latin the characters in a play (literally ‘persons of the drama’)
E embarras de richesse	French more options or resources than one knows what to do with (literally ‘embarrassment of riches’)
éminence grise	French a person who has power or influence without holding an official position (literally ‘grey eminence’)
en famille	French with one’s family; in an informal way (literally ‘in family’)
enfant terrible	French a person whose behaviour is unconventional or controversial (literally ‘terrible child’)
en masse	French all together (literally ‘in a mass’)
en passant	French by the way (literally ‘in passing’)
entente cordiale	French a friendly understanding between states
entre nous	French between ourselves
esprit de corps	French a feeling of pride and loyalty uniting the members of a group (literally ‘spirit of body’)
ex gratia	Latin (of payment) given as a favour rather than because of any legal obligation (literally ‘from favour’)
ex officio	Latin by virtue of one’s position or status (literally ‘out of duty’)
F fait accompli	French a thing that has been done or decided and cannot now be altered (literally ‘accomplished fact’)
faute de mieux	French for want of a better alternative
faux pas	French an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion (literally ‘false step’)
femme fatale	French a seductive woman (literally ‘disastrous woman’)
fête champêtre	French an outdoor entertainment; a garden party (literally ‘rural festival’)
fin de siècle	French relating to the end of a century
force majeure	French superior strength
folie de grandeur	French delusions of grandeur
G gîte	French a small furnished holiday house in France
grande dame	French a woman who is influential within a particular sphere (literally ‘grand lady’)
H haute couture	French the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses (literally ‘high dressmaking’)
haute cuisine	French high-quality cooking (literally ‘high cookery’)
haut monde	French fashionable society (literally ‘high world’)
hors de combat	French out of action due to injury or damage (literally ‘out of the fight’)
I ideé fixe	French an obsession (literally ‘fixed idea’)
in absentia	Latin while not present (literally ‘in absence’)
in camera	Latin in private (literally ‘in the chamber’)
in extremis	Latin in an extremely difficult situation; at the point of death
in loco parentis	Latin in the place of a parent
in medias res	Latin in or into the middle of things
in propria persona	Latin: in his or her own person
in situ	Latin in the original or appropriate position
inter alia	Latin among other things
in toto	Latin as a whole
ipso facto	Latin by that very fact or act
J je ne sais quoi	French a quality that is hard to describe (literally ‘I do not know what’)
jeu d’esprit	French a light-hearted display of wit (literally ‘game of the mind’)
jeunesse dorée	French wealthy, fashionable young people (literally ‘gilded youth’)
joie de vivre	French exuberant enjoyment of life (literally ‘joy of living’)
K katzenjammer	German a hangover or a severe headache accompanying a hangover (literally ‘cats’ wailing’)
L laissez-faire	French a non-interventionist policy (literally ‘allow to do’)
locum tenens	Latin a temporary deputy or stand-in (literally ‘one holding a place’)
locus classicus	Latin the best known or most authoritative passage on a subject (literally ‘classical place’)
M magnum opus	Latin the most important work of an artist, writer, etc. (literally ‘great work’)
manqué	French having failed to become what one might have been (from manquer ‘to lack’)
mea culpa	Latin an acknowledgement that something is one’s fault (literally ‘by my fault’)
memento mori	Latin something kept as a reminder that death is inevitable (literally ‘remember (that you have) to die’)
ménage à trois	French an arrangement in which a married couple and the lover of one of them live together (literally ‘household of three’)
modus operandi	Latin a way of doing something (literally ‘way of operating’)
modus vivendi	Latin an arrangement that allows conflicting parties to coexist peacefully (literally ‘way of living’)
mot juste	French the most appropriate word or expression
N ne plus ultra	Latin the best example of something (literally ‘not further beyond’)
nil desperandum	Latin do not despair
noblesse oblige	French privilege entails responsibility
nolens volens	Latin whether one wants or likes something or not (literally ‘not willing, willing’)
non sequitur	Latin a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous statement (literally ‘it does not follow’)
nouveau riche	French people who have recently become rich and who display their wealth ostentatiously (literally ‘new rich’)
O objet d’art	French a small decorative or artistic object
on dit	French a piece of gossip (literally ‘they say’)
P papabile	Italian worthy or eligible to be elected pope
par excellence	French better or more than all others of the same kind (literally ‘by excellence’)
parti pris	French a preconceived view; a bias (literally ‘side taken’)
per annum	Latin for each year
per capita	Latin for each person (literally ‘by heads’)
per se	Latin by or in itself or themselves
persona non grata	Latin a person who is not welcome somewhere
pièce de résistance	French the most important or impressive item (literally ‘piece (i.e. means) of resistance’)
pied-à-terre	French a small flat or house kept for occasional use (literally ‘foot to earth’)
pis aller	French a last resort (literally ‘worse to go’)
plat du jour	French a special dish prepared by a restaurant on a particular day (literally ‘dish of the day’)
plus ça change	French used to express resigned acknowledgement of the fact that certain things never change (from plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose ‘the more it changes, the more it stays the same’)
pococurante	Italian careless or nonchalant (literally ‘little caring’)
prima facie	Latin accepted as so until proved otherwise (literally ‘at first face’)
primus inter pares	Latin the senior or representative member of a group (literally ‘first among equals’)
pro rata	Latin proportional; proportionally (literally ‘according to the rate’)
proxime accessit	Latin the person who comes second in an examination or is runner-up for an award (literally ‘came very near’)
Q quid pro quo	Latin a favour or advantage given in return for something (literally ‘something for something’)
R raison d’être	French the most important reason for someone or something’s existence (literally ‘reason for being’)
reductio ad absurdum	Latin a method of disproving a premise by showing that its logical conclusion is absurd (literally ‘reduction to the absurd’)
roman-à-clef	French a novel in which real people or events appear with invented names (literally ‘novel with a key’)
S sangfroid	French the ability to stay calm in difficult circumstances (literally ‘cold blood’)
savoir faire	French the ability to act appropriately in social situations (literally ‘know how to do’)
sine die	Latin (of proceedings) adjourned indefinitely (literally ‘without a day’)
sine qua non	Latin a thing that is absolutely essential (literally ‘without which not’)
soi-disant	French self-styled; so-called (literally ‘self-saying’)
sotto voce	Italian in a quiet voice (literally ‘under voice’)
sub judice	Latin being considered by a court of law and therefore not to be publicly discussed elsewhere (literally ‘under a judge’)
sub rosa	Latin happening or done in secret (literally ‘under the rose’)
sui generis	Latin unique (literally ‘of its own kind’)
T table d’hôte	French a restaurant meal offered at a fixed price, with few if any choices (literally ‘host’s table’)
tant mieux	French so much the better
tant pis	French so much the worse; too bad
terra firma	Latin dry land; the ground (literally ‘firm land’)
terra incognita	Latin unknown territory
tête-à-tête	French a private conversation (literally ‘head-to-head’)
tour de force	French a thing accomplished with great skill (literally ‘feat of strength’)
tout de suite	French at once (literally ‘quite in sequence’)
unheimlich	German uncanny or weird
V verboten	German forbidden
via media	Latin a compromise (literally ‘middle way’)
victor ludorum	Latin the overall champion in a sports competition (literally ‘victor of the games’)
vis-à-vis	French in relation to; as compared with (literally ‘face-to-face’)
vox populi	Latin public opinion (literally ‘the voice of the people’)
Z zeitgeist	German the characteristic spirit or mood of a particular historical period (literally ‘time spirit’)

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sharechair says : June 23, 2014 at 13:33
That’s quite a long list. MUCH longer than I would have expected. Interesting!

Reply
- subash says : July 17, 2014 at 06:32
  excellent
  
  Reply
eranamage says : July 21, 2014 at 22:37
Reblogged this on Library of Erana and commented:
We use a lot of words in English whose origins lie elsewhere.

Reply