English is a rich language. It has adopted many words and phrases of different other languages. The Greek, Latin and French words are interwoven in English vocabulary in such a natural manner that they beautify the written as well as the verbal expressions. Some such common foreign words and phrases with their usage are listed below. Read them carefully because a precise knowledge of them will go a long way to help the students in learning effective art of expression :--
1. Ab initio ( from the very begining ):
I have started studying the growth and development of human species ab initio.
------------------------------------------------
2.Ad hoc ( arranged for a special purpose, temporary ):
After the suspension of the managing committee of the college, an ad hoc managing committee has been set up.
------------------------------------------------
3. Ad interim ( in the meantime ):
I will see you soon. You must keep the affairs ready ad interim.
------------------------------------------------
4. Ad libitum ( as much as you please ):
Please help the weak ad libitum.
------------------------------------------------
5. Ad nauseum ( to a disgusting point ):
We have prepared for the student a book containing several things ad nauseum.
------------------------------------------------
6. Alpha and Omega (beginning and end ):
We must try to know the alpha and omega of the thing we preach.
------------------------------------------------
7. Alma Mater ( mother institution ):
Whenever I pass by my alma mater, my heart is filled with pleasure to have a glance at it.
------------------------------------------------
8. Anno domini ( in the year of our Lord; A. D. ):
Several events occured anno domini in England.
------------------------------------------------
9. Alter ego ( bosom friend ):
Mr. Sahni is my alter ego.
------------------------------------------------
10. Alumni ( ex-students of an institution ):
The alumni of St. Mary's celebrated the New Year Eve.
------------------------------------------------
11. Ante meridiem ( a.m., before mid-day ):
Ante meridiem is a Latin word meaning before mid-day.
------------------------------------------------
12. A la mode (according to the fashion ):
Her dress was certainly a la mode.
------------------------------------------------
13. Amour propre ( self-love ):
Freud's psychological theories are based on amour propre.
------------------------------------------------
14. A propos ( well suited ):
His thinking is very much a propose.
------------------------------------------------
15. Bizarre ( eccentric, fantastic ):
The undersea world is filled with bizarre and colourful creatures.
------------------------------------------------
16. Bona fide ( regular, genuine, sincere ):
Amartya Sen was awarded the Bharat Ratna for being the bona fide scholar of Economics.
------------------------------------------------
17. Cafe ( coffee-house, retsaurant ):
I shall go to cafe tomorrow.
------------------------------------------------
18. Carte blanche ( full authority or freedom ):
The Vice-Principal is given carte blancheto work independently.
------------------------------------------------
19. Chauffeur ( motor-car driver ):
Moti Prasad is a good chauffeur.
------------------------------------------------
20. Cortege ( train of attendants, procession ):
The funeral cortege of Mr. J. P. Narayan was taken out with great pomp and show.
------------------------------------------------
21. De jure ( accrding to law ):
Lord Rama was the de jure king of Ayodhya.
------------------------------------------------
22. De facto ( real ):
Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was the de facto leader of Congress ( I ).
------------------------------------------------
23. Dei Gratia ( by the grace of God ):
Mohan has been blessed with a son dei gratia.
------------------------------------------------
24. Dramatis personae ( characters in a drama ):
The dramatis personae is an essential part of a drama.
------------------------------------------------
25. Eldorado ( a country full of old and precious stones ):
Eldorado ( Spanish ) means " the golden one. "
------------------------------------------------
26. Emeritus ( retired and holding honorary title ):
Prof. Raj is working as Professor emeritus in English.
------------------------------------------------
27. En masse ( in a mass, aitogether ):
The people of the locality reached the office of D. M. en masse.
------------------------------------------------
28. En route ( on the way ):
I shall meet my brother at Delhi en route from Lucknow to Bombay.
------------------------------------------------
29. Ex-officio ( because of one's office or position ):
The Pricipal is the ex-officio member of the managing committee.
------------------------------------------------
30. Ex-parte ( one-sided ):
Magistrate has given an ex-parte decision.
------------------------------------------------
31. Expirit de corps ( spirit of loyalty and devotion which unites the members of a group or sociey ):
The Indians living together in a forein country possess an ex pirit de corps.
------------------------------------------------
32. Genre ( style ):
Short-story is a separate genre of fiction.
------------------------------------------------
33. Ibid ( in the same book, chapter, passage ):
The term Ibid is used to provide a reference for a source that was mentioned previously.
------------------------------------------------
34. Id est ( that is, i.e. ):
He was an idiot, id est a bozo.
------------------------------------------------
35. Il penseroso ( a pensive meloncholy,or thoughtful man ):
The death of his faher made him il penseroso.
------------------------------------------------
36. In memorium ( in memory of ):
Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memorium his beloved wife.
------------------------------------------------
37. Ipso facto ( by the very fact, virtually ):
Being the eldest son of his father, he is the ipso facto heir of the entire property of his father.
------------------------------------------------
38. In toto ( completely, entirely ):
He will inherit his father's property in toto.
------------------------------------------------
39. Laissez-faire ( the state of being free from the Government's control ):
The Indian Government is going to introduce a laissez faire economic policy.
------------------------------------------------
40. Lingua franca ( commom language of all ):
Hindi is the lingua franca of India.
------------------------------------------------
41. Literateur ( literary man ):
Pt. Nehru was a great literateur.
------------------------------------------------
42. Mademoisselle ( unmarried woman ):
Sara is a beautiful mademoisselle of sixteen.
------------------------------------------------
43. Mala fide ( with a bad intension ):
Though mothers punish their children yet there is nothing mala fide in it.
------------------------------------------------
44. Magnum opus ( great literary undertaking ):
Hamlet is the magnum opus of Shakespeare.
------------------------------------------------
45. Modus operandi ( the mode of working ):
The modus operandi of a policeman is different from that of a lay man.
------------------------------------------------
46. Monsieur ( French equivalent of Mr. ):
He thanked Monsieur Rajesh for his kindness.
------------------------------------------------
47. Nota bene ( N. B. , Take notice, note well ):
N. B. -What you write should be neat and tidy.
------------------------------------------------
48. Par excellence ( superb, above all others ):
Kalidas, the Sanskrit poet, was a poet par excellence.
------------------------------------------------
49. Parole ( word of honour ):
The decoit has been left on parole.
------------------------------------------------
50. Per annum (per year ):
He gets Rs. 2,00,000/- per annum.
------------------------------------------------
51. Per capita ( per individual ):
The per capita inome of our country is not up to the mark.
------------------------------------------------
52. Prime facie (based on the first impression ):
He produed the prime facie evidence against the accused.
------------------------------------------------
53. Pro forma ( done for the sake of form ):
The pro form of the the application is given in the booklet.
------------------------------------------------
54. Post meridiem ( p. m. , after mid-day ):
Post meridiem is a Latin word meaning after mid-day.
------------------------------------------------
55. Sans ( wihout ):
The old age is an age without teeth, eye-sight and hearing power.
------------------------------------------------
56. Sine die ( without date, indefinitely ):
The Principal has closed the college sine die.
------------------------------------------------
57. Sine quannon ( neccessary condition ):
Simpliity is the status quannon of the Indian life.
------------------------------------------------
58. Status quo ( same position ):
Hari is very poor but he maintains his status quo in his society.
------------------------------------------------
59. Summum bonum ( the chief good ):
A quiet and happy life is the summum bonum of man.
------------------------------------------------
60 Tete-e-tete ( informal talk ):
Mohini had a tete-e-tete with Charu.
------------------------------------------------
61. Tempo ( characteristic style of movement ):
One should watch the tempo of the mob and only then take action.
------------------------------------------------
62. Tour de force ( a feat of strength or skill ):
The victory of the Indian forces in Kargil was a tour de force of the Indian armed forces.
------------------------------------------------
63. Ultra vires beyond the power or authority granted by law ):
The Principal's orders to dismiss a peon are considerd ultra vires by the court.
------------------------------------------------
64. Verbatim ( word for word ):
He has learnedalmost all poems of Wordsworth verbstim.
------------------------------------------------
65. Versus ( against ):
Write a note on peace versus war.
------------------------------------------------
66. Via media ( middle course ):
Hari is trying to find out a via media to bring Ramesh and Sohan together.
------------------------------------------------
67. Vice versa ( in opposed way ):
Change the sentence of active voice into passive voice and vice versa.
------------------------------------------------
68. Viva voce ( oral examination ):
Every University holds viva voce tests in science.
------------------------------------------------
69. Vox populi vox del ( voice of the people is the voice of God ):
In democracy vox populi vox del.
------------------------------------------------
70. ad absurdum (to the point of absurdity):
He tediously repeated his argument ad absurdum.
------------------------------------------------
71.ad infinitum (to infinity):
The lecture seemed to drone on ad infinitum.
------------------------------------------------
73. aficionado ( an ardent devotee ):
I was surprised at what a baseball aficionado she had become.
------------------------------------------------
74. annus mirabilis ( wonderful year ):
Last year was the annus mirabilis for my company.
------------------------------------------------
75. au courant ( up-to-date ):
The shoes, the hair, the clothes—every last detail of her dress, in fact—was utterly au courant.
------------------------------------------------
76. beau geste ( a fine or noble gesture, often futile ):
My fellow writers supported me by writing letters of protest to the publisher, but their beau geste could not prevent the inevitable.
------------------------------------------------
77. beau monde ( high society ):
Such elegant decor would impress even the beau monde.
------------------------------------------------
78. bête noire ( something or someone particularly disliked ):
Talk of the good old college days way back when had become his bête noire, and he began to avoid his school friends.
------------------------------------------------
79. bon mot ( a witty remark or comment):
One bon mot after another flew out of his mouth, charming the audience.
------------------------------------------------
80. bon vivant ( a person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink ):
It's true he's quite the bon vivant, but when he gets down to business he conducts himself like a Spartan
------------------------------------------------
81. casus belli ( an act justifying war):
The general felt that the banana republic's insolent remarks about our national honor were enough of a casus belli to launch an attack.
------------------------------------------------
82. caveat emptor ( let the buyer beware ):
Before you leap at that real estate deal, caveat emptor!
------------------------------------------------
83. comme ci comme ça ( so-so ):
The plans for the party strike me as comme ci comme ça.
------------------------------------------------
84. comme il faut ( as it should be; fitting ):
His end was truly comme il faut.
------------------------------------------------
85. coup de grâce ( finishing blow ):
After an already wildly successful day, the coup de grâce came when she won best all-around athlete.
------------------------------------------------
86. de rigueur ( strictly required, as by etiquette, usage, or fashion ):
Loudly proclaiming one's support for radical causes had become de rigueur among her crowd.
------------------------------------------------
87. enfant terrible (an incorrigible child; an outrageously outspoken / bold person ):
He played the role of enfant terrible, jolting us with his blunt assessment.
------------------------------------------------
88. entre nous ( between ourselves; confidentially ):
Entre nous, their marriage is on the rocks.
------------------------------------------------
89. fait accompli ( an accomplished fact, presumably irreversible ):
There's no use protesting—it's a fait accompli.
------------------------------------------------
90. faux pas ( a social blunder ):
Suddenly, she realized she had unwittingly committed yet another faux pas.
------------------------------------------------
91. Feinschmecker ( gourmet ):
No, I don't think McDonald's will do; he's much too much of a Feinschmecker.
------------------------------------------------
92. flagrante delicto ( in the act ):
The detective realized that without hard evidence he had no case; he would have to catch the culprit flagrante delicto.
------------------------------------------------
93. hoi polloi ( the common people ):
Marie Antoinette recommended cake to the hoi polloi.
------------------------------------------------
94. in loco parentis ( in the place of a parent ):
The court appointed a guardian for the children, to serve in loco parentis.
------------------------------------------------
95. in medias res ( in the middle of a sequence of occurences ):
The film begins in medias res, with a panting, terrified man running through the night.
------------------------------------------------
96. in situ ( situated in the original or natural position ):
I prefer seeing statues in situ rather than in the confines of a museum.
------------------------------------------------
97. in vino veritas ( in wine there is truth ):
By the end of the party, several of the guests had made a good deal of their private lives public, prompting the host to murmur to his wife, ‘in vino veritas.
------------------------------------------------
98. mano a mano ( directly or face-to-face in a confrontation or conflict ):
Stay out of it, he admonished his friends, I want to handle this guy mano a mano.
------------------------------------------------
99. nom de guerre ( pseudonym ):
He went by his nom de guerre when frequenting trendy nightclubs.
------------------------------------------------
100. nom de plume ( pen name ):
Deciding it was time to sit down and begin a novel, the would-be writer spent the first several hours deciding upon a suitable nom de plume.
------------------------------------------------
101. persona non grata ( unacceptable or unwelcome person ):
Once I was cut out of the will, I became persona non grata among my relatives.
------------------------------------------------
102. prima facie ( at first sight, clear and evident ):
Although her husband implored, ‘I can explain!’ the sight of another woman wrapped in his arms was prima facie evidence that he was a deceitful lout.
------------------------------------------------
103. pro bono ( done or donated without charge; free ):
The lawyer's pro bono work gave him a sense of value that his work on behalf of the corporation could not.
------------------------------------------------
104. quid pro quo ( something for something; an equal exchange ):
She vowed that when she had the means, she would return his favors quid pro quo.
------------------------------------------------
105. sans souci ( carefree ):
After serveral glasses of champagne, their mood turned distinctly sans souci.
------------------------------------------------
106. savoir-faire ( the ability to say and do the correct thing ):
She presided over the gathering with impressive savoir-faire.
------------------------------------------------
107. sotto voce ( in a quiet voice ):
While the others were distracted, he filled me in sotto voce on all the delicously sordid details of the scandal.
------------------------------------------------
108. sui generis ( unique ):
Adjusting her pirate's hat and fringed hula skirt, Zelda sashayed into the party, knowing her fashion statement was sui generis.
------------------------------------------------
109. terra incognita ( unknown territory ):
“When the conversation suddenly switched from contemporary fiction to medieval Albanian playwrights, he felt himself entering terra incognita.”
------------------------------------------------
110. tout le monde ( everybody; everyone of importance ):
Don't miss the event; it's bound to be attended by tout le monde.
------------------------------------------------
111. veni, vidi, vici ( I came, I saw, I conquered ):
After the takeover the business mogul gloated, ‘veni, vidi, vici.
------------------------------------------------
112. verboten ( forbidden, as by law; prohibited ):
That topic, I am afraid, is verboten in this household.
------------------------------------------------
113. Weltanschauung ( a world view or philosophy of life ):
His Weltanschauung gradually metamorphized from a grim and pessimistic one to a sunny, but no less complex, view.
------------------------------------------------
114. Zeitgeist (the thought / sensibility characteristic of a particular period of time ):
She blamed it on the Zeitgeist, which encouraged hedonistic excess.
................................................................
