Webster Essential Vocabulary

Foreign Phrase Definition

mea culpa [L.] my fault

merci beaucoup [Fr.] thank you very much

mère [Fr.] mother

Missa solemnis [L.] High Mass (Roman Catholic)

mitzvah [Heb.] blessing; commandment

n’est-ce pas? [Fr.] Isn’t it so?

nicht wahr? [Ger.] Isn’t it so?

nil desperandum [L.] “never desperate”—Horace

noblesse oblige [Fr.] the inferred obligation of high-ranking

people to behave well toward others

nom de plume [Fr.] pen name

non sequitur [L.] a remark having no bearing on what

was just said; an illogical conclusion

from the facts

nouveau riche [Fr.] newly rich, and hence unschooled in

the appropriate behavior of the wealthy

omnia vincit amor [L.] “Love conquers all!”—Virgil

on dit [Fr.] lit.one says; it is said

o tempora! o mores! [L.] “Oh times! Oh morals!”—Cicero, mean-

ing “What a time we live in!”

par avion [Fr.] by airplane; airmail

par exemple [Fr.] for example

Pax Britannica [L.] peace imposed by Britain

Pax Romana [L.] peace imposed by Rome

pax vobiscum [L.] peace be with you

père [Fr.] father

peu à peu [Fr.] little by little

peu de chose [Fr.] small thing; a trifle

(continued)

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