10 English Words of French Origin You Didn’t Know

When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, he wreaked havoc on the English language. How else can you explain how a Germanic language became so infiltrated with the Romance stuff? In fact, some estimates suggest that 25-50% of English words are of French origin!

While you’re already familiar with etiquette, hors d’oeuvre, and rendezvous, here are 10 English words of French origin you didn’t know. Definitions are courtesy Wiktionary, and to prevent cognitive overload, only one potential use is provided for each word.

 

Aplomb

Definition: Self-confidence; poise; composure

Example: The Olympic gymnast handled the pressure with great aplomb.

 

Depilatory

Definition: Capable of removing hair

Example: I’m not going to lie—that dude with the ear and nose hair could use a depilatory agent.

 

Ebriety

Definition: The state of drunkenness

Example: While the middle-aged man aspired to sobriety, he was far more adept at achieving ebriety.

 

Ineluctable

Definition: Impossible to avoid or escape

Example: Rather than admit any guilt, the father categorized his enlarging gut as ineluctable.

 

Malversation

Definition: Corrupt behavior, especially by someone in authority

Example: I don’t know why anyone even feigns surprise upon hearing of the former president’s malversation.

 

Ordure

Definition: Dung; excrement

Example: At first, I found the ordure vile, but then I brought some home to fertilize my vegetables.

 

Rebarbative

Definition: Irritating; repellent

Example: Her verbosity was initially amusing, but I eventually found it rebarbative.

 

Subvention

Definition: A subsidy; provision of financial or other support

Example: The woman supported her husband’s writing problem, though she couldn’t help but view her salary as some sort of subvention.

 

Trammel

Definition: Whatever impedes activity, progress, or freedom

Example: As it pertains to creativity, tradition is a mere trammel.

 

Verisimilitude

Definition: The property of seeming true; resemblance to reality

Example: The good news was the verisimilitude of the semiautobiographical novel; the bad news was that the author’s life was boring.  

 

Note:

J’ai étudié le français pendant six ans et l’anglais pendant quarante-six ans, mais je ne parle aucune des deux langues.

(I’ve studied French for six years and English for forty-six, but I can’t speak either one.)