The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (14 page)

cachepot (kashpo, kashapo), cachepot FRENCH [pot hiding place, from
cacher to hide and pot pot] noun an
ornamental container for a flowerpot.

cachet (kas) FRENCH [seal, stamp,
from cacher to hide, to press] noun
prestige, recognition, honor (originall), a seal or other mark of official
approval): "Though he is too modest to
admit it, Lord Doak gives a cachet to our
smart quartier such as it has not received
since the ever-memorable visit of the Earl
of Sittingbourne" (Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, 1922).

cachou (kashoo, kashoo) FRENCH
[from Portuguese cachu, from Malay
kacu] noun a pastille or lozenge taken
to sweeten the breath: "He was eating
cachous to disguise the smell of cigarettes."

cadastre (kadastar), cadaster FRENCH
[land survey, from Italian catastro list,
ultimately from Greek katastichon
notebook] noun an official register
of land ownership compiled for tax
purposes.

cadaver (kadavar) LATIN [from cadere
to fall] noun a corpse, a human body:
"The stale cadaver blocks up the passage
the burial waits no longer. / Allons! yet
take warning!" (Walt Whitman, Leaves
of Grass, 1855).

caddy (kadee) MALAY [from kati] noun
(plural caddies) a small box, chest,
or tin in which tea is stored: "Her
grandmother kept the key in an old caddy
that still smelled of stale tea leaves."

cadeau (kado) FRENCH [gift] noun
(plural cadeaux) a present: "Sir, you have now given me my `cadeau'; I am
obliged to you: it is the meed teachers most
covet praise of their pupils' progress"
(Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, 1847).

cadenza (kadenz5) ITALIAN [cadence]
noun (in music) an elaborate or
improvised passage towards the end of
a composition allowing a performer
to demonstrate his or her technical
skill: A few brass instruments awake in the
orchestra, announcing the Prophet's first
triumph (in a broken cadenza)" (Honore
de Balzac, Gambara, 1837).

cadet (kadet) FRENCH [from Gascon
capdet chief, ultimately from Latin
caput head] noun a person who is
studying at a military academy or
in training to join one of the armed
services or the police, or more generally a younger brother or son or
the younger branch of a family: "It
was the night of a little party at the
Doctor's, which was given on the occasion of Mr Jack Maldon's departure for
India, whither he was going as a cadet,
or something of that kind: Mr Wickfield
having at length arranged the business"
(Charles Dickens, David Copperfield,
1849-50).

cadre (kadray, kahdray, kahdree,
kahda) FRENCH [framework, executive, from Italian quadro, from Latin
quadrus square] noun a core group of
trained personnel working together
as a unit within a larger organization; also, a group of activists in a

communist or other revolutionary,
organization.

caduceus (kadooseeas, kadiooshas)
LATIN [from Greek karykeion herald's
staff, from karyx herald] noun (plural caducei, kadooseei, ka~oosheei)
a staff decorated with a representation of two entwined snakes and
two wings, as carried by heralds and
used as an insignia of the medical profession: "0 thou great thunder-darter of
Olympus, / Forget that thou artJove, the
king of gods and, / Mercury, lose all the
serpentine craft of thy / Caduceus, if ye
take not that little, little less / Than little wit from them that they have!" (William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida,
c. 1601).

caesura (sizoor3), cesura LATIN [act
of cutting, from caedere to cut] noun
(plural caesuras or caesurae, sizooree, sizhooree) a pause, specifically a break in the middle of a line of
verse marking an interruption in the
rhythm: "In Old English verse the caesura
was used rather monotonously to indicate
the half line." (J. A. Cuddon, A Dictionary of Literary Terms, 1976).

cafe (kaff4), cafe FRENCH [coffee,
from Turkish kahve] noun a coffee
shop, a small restaurant where snacks,
drinks, and light meals are available:
"We stopped at the first cafe we came to
and entered. An old woman seated us at
a table and waited for orders." (Mark
Twain, Innocents Abroad, 1869).

cafe au lait (kafay 6 114) FRENCH
[coffee with milk] noun phrase (plural
cafes au lait) coffee served with milk
(often hot milk). adjective phrase of the
color of cafe an lait, pale brown.

cafe noir (kafay nwahr) FRENCH
[black coffee] noun phrase (plural cafes
noirs) coffee served without milk
or cream.

cafeteria (kalateereea) SPANISH [from
American Spanish cafeteria coffeehouse, ultimately from French cafe
coffee] noun a restaurant or lunchroom where customers usually select
food at a counter or serve themselves
and then eat at tables.

cafetiere (kafeteeair) FRENCH [coffee-pot, from cafe coffee] noun a
coffeemaking machine, a coffee percolator.

caftan (caftan), kaftan TURKISH [from
Persian gaftan] noun a full-length
cotton or silk garment with long
sleeves, as worn by men throughout
the Middle East: "And here is your
servant; he added, indicating a boy with
close-cropped hair, who had come in with
him, wearing a long blue caftan with holes
in the elbows and a pair of boots which did
not belong to him" (Ivan Turgenev, Fathers
and Sons, 1862).

cagoule (kagool), kagoule FRENCH
[cowl] noun a lightweight waterproof

coat that is put on over the head: "The
boys pulled their cagoules off over their
heads once the rain had stopped."

caisson (kkson) FRENCH [from caisse
case or chest] noun a watertight
structure that enables underwater
construction work, such as laying the
foundations for a bridge, to be carried out; also a floating structure that
closes the entrance to a dry dock, a
basin, or a canal lock.

calabrese (kalabzee) ITALIAN [from
Calabria, SW Italy] noun a variety of
green sprouting broccoli, originating
in Italy.

calamari (kalamahree) ITALIAN [plural of calamaro, from Latin calamarium
ink pot] plural noun (in Italian cuisine) a dish of squid.

caldera (kaldaira, koldaira) SPANISH
[from Latin caldaria cauldron] noun a
wide volcanic crater caused by the
collapse of the cone of a volcano:
"The helicopter flew low over the lava-filled
caldera."

caliber (kalabar) FRENCH [from Old
Italian calibro, itself from Arabic qalib
shoemaker's last] noun the diameter
of a bullet or artillery shell, or the
bore of a gun used to fire such bullets or shells; may also refer to the
diameter of any cylindrical object
"`Shore it's funny how a bullet can floor a man an' then not do any damage,' said
Ladd. `I felt a zip of wind an' somethin'
like a pat on my chest an' down I went.
Well, so much for the small caliber with
their steel bullets. Supposin' I'd connected
with a .405!"' (Zane Grey, Desert Gold,
1913). Can also be used more generally to express a degree of excellence,
importance, merit, or moral quality:
"The caliber of the students in this class is
very impressive."

calico (kalako) HINDU [after Calicut,
India] noun a white cotton cloth originally of Indian manufacture; can also
refer to a blotched or piebald animal
(the patterns supposedly resembling
printed calico cloth). adjective of or
relating to calico cloth or patterns:
Arrayed in a new calico dress, with clean,
white apron, and high, well-starched turban,
her black polished face glowing with satisfaction, she lingered, with needless punctiliousness, around the arrangements of the table,
merely as an excuse for talking a little to her
mistress" (Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle
Tom's Cabin, 1852).

caliph (l lif), calif, khalifa ARABIC
[from khalifah successor] noun title
borne by a successor of Muhammad
as the head of Islam.

calliope (kaliapee, kaleeop) GREEK
[after Calliope, the Greek muse of
heroic poetry, from kalliope beautiful
voice] noun a steam-operated pipe
organ: "Claude and his mules rattled into Frankfort just as the calliope went screaming down Main Street at the head of the
circus parade" (Willa Cather, One of
Ours, 1922).

calvados (kalvados) FRENCH [after
Calvados, France] noun apple brandy,
traditionally made in the Calvados
region of Normandy.

calyx (iliks) LATIN [from Greek
kalyx husk, shell, from kaluptein to
hide] noun (plural calyxes or calyces,
lklaseez) the outer whorl of sepals
of a flower.

calzone (kalzon, kalzoni) ITALIAN
[pant leg] noun (plural calzones or calzoni, kalzonee) a pizza base folded
over, with a filling of tomatoes, cheese,
herbs, meat, etc., and baked.

camaraderie (kamarahdaree, kamrahdree) FRENCH [comradeship, from
camarade comrade] noun friendship,
comradeship, good fellowship, mutual
trust: "There was a great sense of camaraderie in the theater that evening."

camarilla (kamarila, kamareea) SPANISH [small room, diminutive of Camara
chamber] noun a clique, a cabal, a
group of scheming advisers.

cameo (kameeo) FRENCH [from Old
French camau] noun a small gem or
medallion carved in relief, or alternatively a short sequence or small role in a play, film, or book: "Her face, encompassed by the blackness of the receding
heath, showed whitely, and without halflights, like a cameo" (Thomas Hardy, The
Return of the Native, 1878).

camera lucida (kamara loosada) LATIN
[light chamber] noun phrase an optical device that projects a virtual image
of an object onto a plane surface by
means of a prism so that it can be
traced.

camera obscura (kamara obskoora)
LATIN [dark room] noun phrase (plural
camera obscuras) an optical device
that projects an image of an object
onto a surface in a darkened enclosure
by means of a lens: `Academics debate
the extent of the use of the camera obscura
in renaissance art."

ga m'est egal (sametaygahl) FRENCH
[that is equal to me] interjection it's
all the same to me, I don't mind.

camisole (kamasol) FRENCH [from
Provencal camisolla, from camisa
shirt] noun a sleeveless underbodice for women, or a short neglige
jacket: "Mrs O'Dowd, the good housewife, arrayed in curl papers and a camisole,felt that her duty was to act, and
not to sleep, at this juncture" (William
Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair,
1847-48).

camorra (khinor3), Camorra ITALIAN
[a shirt, or possibly from Spanish

camorra dispute, quarrel] noun a
secret criminal organization, often
referring specifically to a clandestine
society that was founded in Naples,
Italy, around 1820: "The local hoods had
gathered together to form a sort of camorra
to protect their interests."

camouflage (kameflahzh, kameflahj)
FRENCH [disguise, from camoufler to
disguise, to cover up] noun the use
of paint, netting, or other means to
disguise military equipment by making it merge into the immediate surroundings; also used more generally of
any attempt to conceal something or
deceive others. -adjective of or relating
to a design, pattern, or combination of
colors intended to disguise or conceal
something. verb to disguise something
in such a manner: "You can camouflage all
you want to, but you know darn well that
these radicals, as you call 'em, are opposed to
the war..." (Sinclair Lewis, Main Street,
1920). 'abbreviated form cam.

campanile (kampaneelee) ITALIAN [bell
tower, from campana bell] noun (plural campaniles or campanili, kampaneelee) a freestanding bell tower:
"The campanile next to the cathedral was
badly damaged in the earthquake."

campesino (kampaseeno) SPANISH
[field-worker, from cameo field, country, ultimately from Latin campus field]
noun (plural campesinos, kampaseenoz) a Latin American farmer
or peasant.

campus (kampas) LATIN [field, plain]
noun (plural campuses or campi,
kampee) the site of a university,
college, or school, including associated buildings and grounds, or the
university or college itself: "The group
had the right to hold meetings on the campus without prior official approval."

canaille (kani, kanaai) FRENCH [from
Italian canaglia pack of dogs, from
cane dog] noun the general populace, the masses, the rabble, the mob:
"Canaille / of the gutter, up! Away! /
You've battened on me for a bitter-long
day; / But I'm driving you forth, and
forever and aye, / Hunger and Thirst and
Cold" (Robert Service, Ballads of a
Bohemian, 1920).

canape (kanapay, kanapee) FRENCH
[sofa, from Latin canopeum mosquito
net] noun an appetizer, usually in the
form of a piece of bread, toast, or a
cracker topped with cheese, caviar,
anchovies, meat spread, or other morsels: "He helped himself from a plate of
canapes as he waited for the lady of the
house to come down."

canard (kanahrd) FRENCH [duck,
from vendre des canards a moitie to
half-sell ducks] noun a hoax, an
unfounded report; can also refer in
aeronautics to a small airfoil located
in front of the wing of some aircraft to
increase stability: "The idea that staring
at the moon induces madness is a canard of
considerable longevity."

cancan (kankan) FRENCH [from canard
duck] noun a lively dance, originally
from France, in which female dancers
perform series of high kicks while
wearing full ruffled skirts: "Crowds
flocked to the theater to see the scandalous
new dance called the cancan."

Cancer (kansir) LATIN [crab] noun
(in astronomy) the Crab, a constellation in the northern hemisphere;
(in astrology) the fourth sign of the
zodiac, occurring between Gemini
and Leo.

candelabrum (kandalahbram) LATIN
[from candela candle] noun (plural
candelabra, kandalahbra) a branched
ornamental candlestick or lightholder:
An eight-branched candelabrum stood on a
little table near the head of a sofa."

ca ne fait rien (sa na fay reean)
FRENCH [that means nothing] noun
phrase it does not matter.

Canis Major (kaynis "jar) LATIN
[large dog] noun phrase (in astronomy)
the Great Dog, a constellation in
the southern hemisphere, which lies
partly in the Milky Way and which
contains Sirius, the Dog Star.