Word origins

• civilisationUK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Commonwealth spelling of civilization.
• dadaFather, dad.
• troupeA company of, often touring, acrobats, actors, singers or dancers.
• HeleneA female given name from Ancient Greek.
• 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.
• vigilantWatchful, especially for danger or disorder; alert; wary.
• 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.
• contestantA participant in a contest; specifically, a person who plays a game, as on a TV game show.
• leveeAn elevated ridge of deposited sediment on the banks of a river, formed by the river's overflow at times of high discharge.
• monolithicOf or resembling a monolith.
• MercierA surname.
• extraditionA formal process by which a criminal suspect held by one government or jurisdiction is handed over to another government or jurisdiction for trial or, if the suspect has already been tried and found guilty, to serve his or her sentence.
• acidityThe quality or state of being acid.
• 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.
• econometricsThe branch of economics that applies statistical methods to the empirical study of economic theories and relationships.
• tourmalineA complex black or dark-coloured borosilicate mineral, compounded with various chemical elements and considered a semi-precious stone.
• decadentCharacterized by moral or cultural decline.
• sadismThe enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation without pity.
• 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.
• circulatoryOf or pertaining to a circulation, especially to the circulatory system.
• BaptisteA surname from French.
• fondueA dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.
• precautionPrevious caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent misfortune or to secure good.
• philanthropicOf or pertaining to philanthropy; characterized by philanthropy; loving or helping mankind
• cognacA brandy distilled from white wine in the region around Cognac in France.
• BernadetteA female given name from French.
• 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.
• FavreA surname from French.
• 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.
• livreA unit of currency formerly used in France, divided into 20 sols or sous.
• materielMilitary equipment, apparatus, and supplies.
• GAAsA village in Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
• bigotryThe condition or the characteristic quality of a bigot, especially religious, anti-religious or racial intolerant prejudice; opinionatedness; fanaticism; fanatic intolerance.
• capoteA long coat or cloak with a hood.
• atrophyA reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease, injury or lack of use.