Word origins

• hivernantA voyageur who wintered in First Nations camps.
• Hochelaga-MaisonneuveA neighbourhood of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, city of Montreal, island of Montreal, region of Montreal, province of Quebec, Canada; a former district of Montreal.
• hockeyerA hockey player.
• hollandaise sauceAn emulsion of butter and lemon juice using egg yolks as the emulsifying agent, used in French cooking.
• homme de lettresman of letters, a literary man
• homme fatalAn ultimately seductive and dangerous man; a womanizer.
• homophonyA musical texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords; the quality of being homophonic.
• hors categorieThe toughest category of climbs, tougher than category 1. One of six categories of climbs, HC, 1, 2, 3, 4, and not classified; not classified being the easiest.
• hors de combatOut of action; disabled; no longer able to fight.
• hors d'oeuvreA small, light, and usually savory first course in a meal.
• hors-texteOccupying a full page by itself, rather than among the prose (such as a full-page image).
• hôtel-DieuThe chief hospital in a French city.
• hôtelièreA woman who owns or runs a hotel.
• houbara bustardChlamydotis undulata, a bustard, chiefly of North Africa and south-east Asia.
• HoupA surname from French.
• houriA beautiful virgin girl supposed to dwell in Paradise for the enjoyment of the faithful.
• HublinA surname from French.
• HugolatryThe fervent admiration of the works and literary theories of French writer Victor Hugo (1802–1885).
• HugophileAn admirer of French writer Victor Hugo (1802–1885).
• huissierA doorman; a domestic officer who guarded the doors to chambers in a mansion or similar large establishment.
• huissier de justiceAn officer of the court in several European countries who serves processes and notices, seizes and auctions off property, and executes garnishments, levies, and evictions, roughly similar to British bailiffs or private constables in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
• huitainA French poem, a kind of octastich.
• HurbacheA commune of the Canton of Raon-l’Étape, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, Vosges department, Grand Est, France.
• HyblaeanOf, from or relating to the Hyblaean Mountains in southeastern Sicily, Italy.
• hydrophobeA hydrophobic compound or material.
• hypochondreThe hypochondrium.
• idéeIdea, occurring only in certain set phrases which are borrowings from French
• idée fixeAn idea dominating the mind and maintained despite evidence to the contrary; (loosely), an obsession.
• idée reçueA received, or accepted, idea.
• identicIdentical.
• -ienneindicates a female variant of a noun ending in -ian
• IfraneA city in Fez-Meknez, Morocco.
• Ile aux CanardsAn island of Nouméa, New Caledonia, France.
• Île de la CitéAn island of Paris, France, site of the Notre-Dame cathedral and previously many important government buildings.
• -illiardCombined with Latin prefixes for names of integers in order to form names of large numbers as 10⁶ⁿ⁺³.
• IllineseSynonym of Illinois (“member of the Illinois (Algonquian people)”)
• -imeSuffix denoting ordinal number.
• impastationThe act of making into paste.
• imprimerySynonym of printer, printing house, &c., a self-employed printer or printing establishment.
• improvisatorSomeone who improvises; improviser.
• impudicImmodest.
• ImsouaneA town and rural commune of Souss-Massa, Morocco.
• inaptitudeThe quality of being inapt.
• inceptiveBeginning; of or relating to inception.
• indeterministOne who believes the doctrine of indeterminism.
• -ineOf or pertaining to.
• informatisationThe process of becoming based on information and information technology.
• ingenuAn innocent, unsophisticated, naive, wholesome boy or young man.
• insectologyThe scientific study of insects.
• intercalantAny molecule that intercalates, or is inserted, between two others
• interliaisonMutual liaison between multiple entities.
• interlocutriceA female interlocutor
• interversionThe swapping of positions within a sequence; transposition or permutation.
• intricationEntanglement or intricacy
• intriganteA female intriguer.
• involucreConspicuous bract, bract pair or ring of bracts at the base of an inflorescence.
• IroqueseSynonym of Iroquois
• irreflectionLack of reflection or consideration.
• irrespirableNot respirable; not suitable for breathing; unbreathable.
• IsèreA department of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
• isochimenalisocheimal
• isothereAn isotherm connecting points on a map with equal mean summer temperature.
• IvoirianIvorian
• Ivry-sur-SeineA commune in Val-de-Marne department, Île-de-France, France.
• jacobineSynonym of Jacobin, especially as a feminine form.
• jacquerieA revolt organized by peasants, typically violent.
• jactanceBoasting; bragging; showing off.
• j'adoubeSpoken by a player before adjusting a piece on the chessboard, to indicate that one is not making a move in the game.
• jamais vuA sense of unfamiliarity with, or of never having experienced or seen before, something that should be familiar.
• JanvrinA surname from French.
• japonaiserieArt objects made in the Japanese style.
• jardinièreAn ornamental pot for the display of live or cut flowers; a planter; a plantstand or flowerpot, especially one made of decorated pottery or porcelain.
• jargoonA variety of zircon.
• JarnacA town in Charente department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
• jaspéVeined or clouded like imitation jasper.
• JaudonA surname from French.
• javanaisA type of slang used in the French language, where an extra syllable -av- or -va is placed inside a word as an infix.
• javelA vagabond.
• Jean-PierreA surname from French.
• JeanpierreA surname from French.
• JeholFormer name of Chengde.
• JenerouxA surname from French
• je ne sais quoiAn indefinable quality that makes something distinctive or attractive.
• jequirityAbrus precatorius, a legume native to Indonesia with long, pinnate-leafleted leaves, whose toxic seeds ("jequirity beans") may be used as beads or in percussion instruments.
• jeremiadA long speech or prose work that bitterly laments the state of society and its morals, and often contains a prophecy of its coming downfall.
• jet d'eauA stream of water spouting from a fountain or pipe (especially from one arranged to throw water upward), used as an ornament in a garden or public place.
• jeteA leap from one foot to the other in which one leg appears to be "thrown" in the direction of the movement.
• jeu de paumeA precursor of lawn tennis, originally played by hitting the ball with the palm of the hand instead of with a racquet.
• jeu d'espritA witticism; a witty comment or composition.
• jeu de taquinA construction that defines an equivalence relation on the set of skew standard Young tableaux.
• jeune premieractor who plays young hero/lover roles
• jeunesse doréeYoung people who are dazzlingly rich, elegant, etc.; the youthful part of fashionable society.
• jocondeA Mona Lisa.
• JodoigneA city in Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium
• joie de vivreEnjoyment of living; happiness, ebullience, zest for life.
• JoignyA town in Yonne department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
• jongleurAn itinerant entertainer in medieval England and France; roles included song, music, acrobatics etc.; a troubadour.
• JonquièreA former city in Quebec, Canada.
• JouanA surname from French.
• jour fixeA series of presentations and/or performances, discussions or similar events that happen on a fixed day every month (or similar; for example, every second Sunday of a month). Used mainly by cultural and artistic organizations.