fait accompli – something done that cannot be
changed
mot juste – the right word
table d’hôte – fixed price menu
petit mal – mild form of epilepsy
pot-pourri – a mixture
rendezvous – a meeting
Incorporating foreign words
Because the English travelled the world, words from many
other languages have been incorporated into the English
language. Words that derive from other languages are identi-
fied in the dictionary. You will find a list of abbreviations in
the front of your dictionary. Among them will be foreign
languages. Here are four words that derive from other
languages.
Hottentot Afrikaans (Afrik.)
hour Greek (Gk)
sabre Polish (Pol.)
shawl Persian (Pers.)
Identifying parts of speech
Your dictionary will classify each word as a particular part of
speech. Remember that some words can be more than one
part of speech depending on the way they are used in the
sentence. Some dictionaries will give examples. Below is a
list of the usual abbreviations used for parts of speech with
definitions given also for revision purposes.
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