Word origins

• cliqueA small, exclusive group of individuals, usually having some common characteristic such as lifestyle or social status, or common purpose; specifically one formed for disreputable purposes, or which purports to be an authority on a particular matter; a cabal.
• chuteA framework, trough, or tube, upon or through which objects are made to slide from a higher to a lower level, or through which water passes to a wheel.
• fondsThe entire collection of the records originating from the same creator; an archive term used to describe a collection of papers that originate from the same source.
• ogreA large, grotesque, brutish humanoid monster, typically marked by great strength and a propensity to kill or devour humans.
• baudA unit of data transmission symbol rate; the number of signalling events per second.
• cruA vineyard or group of vineyards in France, especially one having a high reputation.
• abrasionThe act of abrading, wearing, or rubbing off; the wearing away by friction.
• chauffeurA person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).
• margarineA spread, manufactured from a blend of vegetable oils (some of which are hydrogenated), emulsifiers etc, mostly used as a substitute for butter.
• celluliteSkin dimpling caused by the herniation (protrusion) of subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat within connective tissue), especially on the pelvic area of women.
• appelAn act of striking the ground with the leading foot to frighten, distract, or mislead one's opponent.
• sarcasticContaining sarcasm.
• tuffA light porous rock, now especially a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel.
• NantesThe prefecture of the department of Loire-Atlantique, France; the capital city of the region of Pays de la Loire, in historical Brittany.
• mousseAn airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.
• provenancePlace or source of origin.
• chiffonA lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, like gossamer, woven of alternate S- and Z-twist crepe (high-twist) yarns made of silk, polyester, or cotton.
• fanfareA flourish of trumpets or horns as to announce; a short and lively air performed on hunting horns during the chase.
• hangarA large garagelike structure where aircraft are kept.
• miseThe issue in a writ of right.
• tendonA tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.
• civilisationUK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Commonwealth spelling of civilization.
• troupeA company of, often touring, acrobats, actors, singers or dancers.
• dissociationThe act of dissociating or disuniting; a state of separation; disunion.
• appliqueA decorative design made by cutting pieces of material and applying them to the surface of another for decoration.
• erodeTo wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.
• defiantDefying.
• hectareA unit of surface area (symbol ㏊) equal to 100 ares (that is, 10,000 square metres, one hundredth of a square kilometre, or approximately 2.5 acres), used for measuring the areas of geographical features such as land and bodies of water.
• sequinAny of various small gold coins minted in Italy and Turkey.
• crepeA flat round pancake-like pastry from Lower Brittany, made with wheat.
• monolithicOf or resembling a monolith.
• MercierA surname.
• BruxellesSynonym of Brussels.
• echelonA level or rank in an organization, profession, or society.
• metallurgyThe science of metals; their extraction from ores, purification and alloying, heat treatment, and working.
• tourmalineA complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.
• LaurierA surname from French.
• chlorophyllAny of a group of green pigments that are found in the chloroplasts of plants and in other photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria.
• droitA legal right or entitlement.
• bisqueA thick creamy soup made from fish, shellfish, meat or vegetables.
• lucerneAlfalfa.
• incandescentEmitting light as a result of being heated.
• serenadeA love song that is sung directly to one's love interest, especially one performed below the window of a loved one in the evening.
• microficheA sheet of microfilm, six by four inches, holding several hundred reduced images of document pages, read using a microfiche reader or microfilm reader.
• gestionThe act of managing, conducting or administrating something.
• goutAn extremely painful inflammation of joints, especially of the big toe, caused by a metabolic defect resulting in the accumulation of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of urates around the joints.
• jardinThe inclusions and fissures within an emerald.
• auteurA creative artist, especially a film director, seen as having a specific, recognisable artistic vision, and who is seen as the single or preeminent ‘author’ of their works.
• mystiqueAn aura of heightened interest, meaning or mystery surrounding a person or thing.
• gentileNon-Jewish.
• ChamplainA surname from French.
• valenceThe combining capacity of an atom, functional group, or radical determined by the number of atoms of hydrogen with which it will unite, or the number of electrons that it will gain, lose, or share when it combines with other atoms, etc.
• GenevieveA female given name from French.
• ridiculeTo criticize or disapprove of someone or something through scornful jocularity; to make fun of.
• durantA strong cloth in imitation of buff leather.
• talismanA magical object providing protection against ill will, or the supernatural, or conferring the wearer with a boon such as good luck, good health, or certain powers.
• detourA diversion or deviation from one's original route.
• rhoneA horizontal section of guttering, collecting rainwater from a roof.
• caricatureA pictorial representation of someone in which distinguishing features are exaggerated for comic effect.
• mezzanineAn intermediate floor or storey in between the main floors of a building; specifically, one that is directly above the ground floor which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, and so resembles a large balcony overlooking the ground floor; an entresol.
• VoltaireA surname from French.
• canteenA water bottle, flask, or other vessel, typically used by a soldier or camper as a bottle for carrying water or liquor for drink.
• ducA French duke.
• disponibleAvailable.
• BaptisteA surname from French.
• fondueA dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.
• cognacA brandy distilled from white wine in the region around Cognac in France.
• potpourriA mixture of dried fragrant plant material, often in a decorative bowl, used to scent a room.
• dauphinThe eldest son of the king of France. Under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, the Dauphin of France, generally shortened to Dauphin, was heir apparent to the throne of France. The title derived from the main title of the Dauphin, Dauphin of Viennois.
• lenoA type of weave used to make light, open cotton fabric used for window curtains.
• FeiA surname.
• GigiA female given name from French.
• ouiSynonym of yes.
• mayonnaiseA dressing made from vegetable oil, raw egg yolks, vinegar or lemon juice, and seasoning, used on salads, with French fries, in sandwiches, etc.
• FontaineA surname from French.
• boboA materialistic person who affects an anti-materialistic persona.
• brutvery dry, and not sweet
• alkaliOne of a class of caustic bases, such as soda, soda ash, caustic soda, potash, ammonia, and lithia, whose distinguishing characteristics are dissolving in alcohol and water, uniting with oils and fats to form soap, neutralizing and forming salts with acids, turning to brown several vegetable yellows, and changing reddened litmus to blue.
• FrancineA female given name from French.
• titreThe strength or concentration of a solution that has been determined by titration.
• bonneA French nursemaid.
• aynSynonym of ayin, the various letters representing the consonant /ʕ/ in Semitic languages.
• tactSensitive mental touch; special skill or faculty; keen perception or discernment; ready power of appreciating and doing what is required by circumstances; the ability to say the right thing and avoid statements that will give offence or pain even if true.
• augerA carpenter's tool for boring holes longer than those bored by a gimlet.
• chromaticCharacterized or caused by, or relating to, colour or hue.
• ArgonneA long strip of wild mountainous woodland in northeastern France, approximately 200 km (120 mi) east of Paris.
• culminationThe attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.
• LourdesA town and commune of Hautes-Pyrénées department, Occitania, site of a large Catholic pilgrimage.
• MargotA female given name from French.
• spectroscopicOf or relating to spectroscopy or to a spectroscope.
• entrantA participant who enters something, such as a contest.
• monoraila railroad system where the trains run on one rail
• ATHA city in Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium.
• FoucaultMichel Foucault
• taupeA dark brownish-grey colour, the colour of moleskin.
• piqueTo wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.
• DescartesA surname from French
• arbitrageA market activity in which a security, commodity, currency or other tradable item is bought in one market and sold simultaneously in another, in order to profit from price differences between the markets.
• IroquoisA member of a confederacy of (originally) five Native American (Indian) tribes: the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas.
• RosemontA census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States.