Webster Essential Vocabulary

Appendix B

Appendix B: Foreign Phrases

Many phrases and expressions from foreign languages have found a place in every-

day English among the better educated. Some of them have been adopted and have

found their way into everyone’s vocabulary, while some remain foreign yet are used

often enough to be worth listing here. A disproportionate number of the words are

Latin and French. This should not be a surprise, considering the prominent roles

that the French played in our history and literature and that the Romans, whose

language was Latin, played in the history of Europe and Britain.

Letters in brackets stand for the language from which the phrase comes, as follows:

Ar., Arabic

Fr., French

Ger., German

Haw., Hawaiian

Heb., Hebrew

Ire., Irish

It., Italian

L., Latin

Sp., Spanish

Foreign Phrase Definition

adeste fidelis [L.] always faithful

ad hoc [L.] temporary

à droite [Fr.] on the right

affaire d’honneur [Fr.] a matter of honor

à gauche [Fr.] on the left

à la rigeur [Fr.] strictly speaking; if absolutely needed

(continued)

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