Foreign Words and Phrases
Some French, Latin, and Greek words and terms have become part of our
vocabulary.
respondez sil vous plait (RSVP)
Please respond
Cum Laude (kŏŏm lou'dē,)
With honor
Avant-garde(uh-vahnt-gahrd)
New and unusual
Carte Blanche(kahrt blanch, blahnch)
License
Tabula Rasa (tab-yuh-luh rah-suh)
Empty slate
Carpe Diem(kahr-pe dee-em)
Seize the day
Vox Populi (voks pop-yuh-lahy)
Voice of the people
Déjà Vu (dey-zhah voo)
A feeling of having experienced something previously
Bon Voyage (bon voi-ahzh)
Have a good trip
Femme Fatale (fem fuh-tal)
Disastrous woman
E Pluribus unum (e ploo-ri-boos oo-noom)
One out of many (U.S. motto)
Caveat Emptor (kav-ee-aht emp-tawr)
Buyer beware
Hoi Polloi (hoi puh-loi)
The ordinary people
Tempus fugit (tem-poos foo-git)
Time flies
Savoir Faire (sav-wahr-fair)
Savvy, courtesy
Enfant Terrible (ahn-fahn te-ree-bluh)
Terrible child
Faux Pas (foh pah)
A social blunder
Alma Mater (ahl-muh mah-ter)
School one attended
Esprit de Corps (e-spree duh kawr)
Fellowship, camaraderie
Prima Donna (pree-muh don-uh)
1. Chief female operatic singer
2. Self-important, difficult person
Joie de Vivre (zhwaduh vee-vruh)
Love of life
Alpha and Omega
Beginning and end
Ad Nauseam (ad naw-zee-uhm)
To the extreme degree
C’est la Vie (se la vee)
That’s life
Non Sequitur (non sek-wi-ter)
It does not follow
Terra Firma (…fur-muh)
Earth