- ab inito, Latin - from the beginning
- ad hoc, Latin - formed, arranged, or done for a particular purpose only
- ad infinitum, Latin - endlessly (lit: to infinity)
- ad interim, Latin - for the meantime
- ad nauseam, Latin - excessively (lit: to sickness)
- alfresco, Italian - in fresh air
- au fait, French - having a good or detailed knowledge of something
- beau ideal, French - idealized type or model
- bête noire, French - a thing one particularly dislikes (lit: black beast)
- bildungsroman, German - a novel concerned with a person's formative years and development
- blitzkrieg, German - an intense, violent military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory (lit: lightning war)
- bon mot, French - a clever or witty remark
- cherchez la femme, French - the underlying (and yes, sexist) assumption that behind every problem, there is a woman who caused it. (lit: "look for the woman")
- compos mentis, French - sane; in full control of one's mind
- cognoscenti, Italian - people who are well informed about something
- coup de foudre, French - love at first sight (lit: stroke of lightning)
- coup de grâce, French - mercy killing (lit: stroke of grace)
- cui bono?, Latin - "who stands to gain?"
- de facto, Latin - in fact, by right or not
- déjà vu, French - the sense of having experienced the present situation before
- deus ex machina, Latin - an unexpected event that saves an apparently hopeless situation (lit: god from the machinery)
- doppelgänger, German - apparition or double of a living person
- dormiveglia - the state between sleeping and waking
- eigengrau - intrinsic grey; the color one sees in the absence of light (lit: own grey)
- éminence grise, French - a person who has power or influence without holding an official position (lit: gray eminence)
- en masse, French - all together
- en passant, French - by the way (lit: in passing)
- entre nous, French - between ourselves
- faute de mieux, French - for want of a better alternative
- firgun, Hebrew - the act of sharing in or contributing to another's pleasure or fortune
- gung-ho, Chinese - enthusiastic (lit: to work together)
- hiraeth, Welsh - a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, or an earnest desire for the lost or departed
- in camera, Latin - in private
- in situ, Latin - in the proper place
- katzenjammer, German - a hangover or a severe headache accompanying a hangover (lit: cats wailing)
- l'appel du vide, French - (lit: the call of the void) suicidal ideations in a situation where one is a step/move away from death, such as the thought/urge to jump while on a tall structure or to swerve into oncoming traffic or at a tree
- le mot juste, French - the right word at the right time
- nefelibata, Portugese - (lit: a cloud walker) one who lives in the cloud of their own imagination or dreams, or one who does not abide by the precepts of society, literature, or art; an unconventional, unorthodox person
- noceur, French - one who sleeps late or not at all; or, one who stays out late to revel or party
- schlaftrunken, German - half asleep, drowsy, drugged with sleep (especially after being woken up too early)
- toska, Russian - a dull ache of the soul
- toute la nuit, French - all night long
- tsundoku, Japanese (portmanteau) - the condition of acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in one's home without reading them
- vorfreude, German - the joy one feels in anticipation of something joyful to happen
- weltschmerz, German - the pain, sometimes even apathy or depression, a person feels by comparing the actual state of the world with the ideal state
sep 18 2015 ∞
apr 21 2017 +