Etymology

je ne sais quoi

Today it means: An indefinable quality that makes something distinctive or attractive. Full definition →

French je ne sais quoi
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The story

  1. French · borrowed fromje ne sais quoi
  2. English todayje ne sais quoi

Borrowed from French je ne sais quoi (literally “I don't know what”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.