Building a Better Vocabulary

Lecture 35: More Foreign Loan Words

z According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, gestalt came into

English in 1922, but in Germany, the concept of gestalt had been

used as the basis of a school of psychology that developed in the

late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the main beliefs of gestalt

psychologists is that the mind perceives external stimuli as a whole,

at least initially, rather than as individual parts.

Cachet (noun)

Superior status, privilege.

z Cachet is often used in connection with fashion, as in: “On the

university campus, wearing North Face jackets and UGG boots

carries a certain cachet among college students.”

z According to Joyn Ayto’s Dictionary of Word Origins, cachet

came into English in the 1630s as a Scottish borrowing of the

French word cachet ZKLFK PHDQW ³VHDO DI¿[HG WR D OHWWHU RU

document.” In the 19th century, this “seal” meaning was extended

WRWKHPRUH¿JXUDWLYHVHQVHRI³DSHUVRQDOVWDPSDGLVWLQJXLVKLQJ

characteristic.” This meaning itself was later further extended to

“prestige and status.”

z Cachet is sometimes confused with cache. Although the two words

are distantly related, cache is a noun referring to either a hiding

place for storing for provisions, valuables, or weapons or the actual

store of valuables itself. For example: “Thankfully, the army found

the terrorists’ cache of weapons before they could use them.”

Agent provocateur (noun)

A secret agent hired to incite suspected persons to illegal action that will

make them liable to punishment.

Sangfroid (noun)

Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.