Word origins

• tutuA ballet skirt made of layered stiff but light netting.
• neutralizationThe act of neutralizing.
• DordogneA department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Capital: Périgueux.
• DerridaA surname from French
• gigoloA man funded by women who find him attractive, particularly
• BouchardA surname from French.
• CaddoA member of a confederacy of several southeastern Native American tribes, who inhabited much of what is now East Texas, western Louisiana and portions of southern Arkansas and Oklahoma in the 16th century.
• retortA sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.
• evasiveTending to avoid speaking openly or making revelations about oneself.
• irritantCausing irritation or inflammation.
• pawneeOne or to whom a pledge is delivered as security one who takes anything in pawn.
• visiteA light cape or short cloak made of silk or lace, formerly worn by women in summer.
• determinismThe doctrine that all actions are determined by the current state and immutable laws of the universe, with no possibility of choice.
• normalityThe state of being normal or usual; normalcy.
• RenaudA male given name from French.
• fugueA contrapuntal piece of music wherein a particular melody is played in a number of voices, each voice introduced in turn by playing the melody.
• tricycleA cycle with three wheels, powered by pedals and usually intended for young children.
• rondeA kind of script in which the tails of the letters are curly, giving the characters a rounded look.
• chagrinA distress of mind caused by a failure of aims or plans, a want of appreciation, mistakes, etc.; vexation or mortification.
• methyleneThe divalent group –CH₂– in which the free valencies are part of single bonds.
• GarnierA surname from French [in turn from the Germanic languages].
• TremblayA surname from French.
• aristocraticOf, pertaining to, or favouring, an aristocracy.
• granuleA tiny grain, a small particle.
• mannequinA dummy, or life-size model of the human body, used for martial arts training or the fitting or displaying of clothes.
• VoldemortAn evil, harmful, or widely feared person or thing.
• LabelleA surname from French.
• adjointUsed in certain contexts, in each case involving a pair of transformations, one of which is, or is analogous to, conjugation (either inner automorphism or complex conjugation).
• derangedDisturbed or upset, especially mentally.
• MaristA member of any of several Roman Catholic organizations named after the Virgin Mary
• carportA roofed structure for automobile storage, usually attached to a house and not fully enclosed like a garage but with at least one side open to the outdoors.
• bergamotA tree of the orange family (Citrus × limon, syn. Citrus bergamia), having a roundish or pear-shaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odor is extracted, much prized as a perfume.
• zigzagA line or path that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.
• dragoonSynonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical dragon”).
• PompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic.
• nocturneA work in a genre of piano music of moderate tempo with a highly-decorated, improvisatory melody.
• altruismRegard for others, both natural and moral without regard for oneself; devotion to the interests of others; brotherly kindness.
• angeliqueA tall plant, with hollow stems, genus Angelica, especially garden angelica (Angelica archangelica).
• harmonizeTo be in harmonious agreement.
• riveTo tear apart by force; to rend; to split; to cleave.
• camaraderieA close friendship in a group of friends or teammates.
• bourseA stock exchange.
• dentureA set of teeth, the teeth viewed as a unit.
• coincidentOf two or more objects: being in the same location.
• microcosmHuman nature or the human body as representative of the wider universe; man considered as a miniature counterpart of divine or universal nature.
• sorelA young buck (deer) in the third year.
• dupeA person who has been deceived.
• lipaseAny of a group of enzymes that catalyse the hydrolysis of lipids.
• mobilisationThe act of mobilising.
• sculptTo form by sculpture.
• AugustinSynonym of English.
• loupA mass or ball of iron in a pasty condition, beaten by the trip hammer or rolls.
• plageA region viewed in the context of its climate; a clime or zone.
• mignonSmall and cute; pretty in a delicate way; dainty.
• clementineA type of small, sweet-tasting orange, the result of a hybrid cross between the willowleaf variety of mandarin orange (Citrus × aurantium f. deliciosa) and a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Scientific name: Citrus × clementina.
• saicA kind of ketch heavily used in the Black Sea, Tisa, Danube and Sava
• morgueA supercilious or haughty attitude; arrogance.
• sulfuricOf, or relating to sulfur, especially in its higher oxidation state
• paisThe country (ie: the jury); also, the people living in the district from where the jury is taken.
• GoHA person invited to attend a convention, in recognition of their contributions to the convention's field, to give one or more speeches and attend convention events.
• BerrienA surname from French.
• kirschA clear brandy made from black cherries: kirschwasser.
• GagneA surname from French.
• feteA festival open to the public, the proceeds from which are often given to charity.
• adopteeAn adopted son or daughter.
• militarismAn ideology which claims that the military is the foundation of a society's security, and thereby its most important aspect.
• NoelleA female given name from French, often given to girls born near Christmas.
• ballonThe quality of a jump by which a ballet dancer appears to pause in midair
• mistralA strong cold north-west wind in southern France and the Mediterranean.
• BergeronA surname from French.
• detonationAn explosion or sudden report made by the near-instantaneous decomposition or combustion of unstable substances. Specifically, combustion that spreads supersonically via shock compression.
• bustierA tight-fitting women's top, often strapless, which covers the bust and sometimes extends over the belly, worn either as an undergarment or as outerwear.
• motteA raised earth mound, often topped with a wooden or stone structure and surrounded with a ditch.
• cashewAny tree of the genus Anacardium.
• vaudevilleA style of multi-act theatrical entertainment which originated from France and flourished in Europe and North America from the 1880s through the 1920s.
• ricochetA method of firing a projectile so that it skips along a surface.
• menagerieA collection of live wild animals as an exhibition historically associated with the aristocracy and considered a precursor of modern zoos.
• filsUsed after a proper name that is common to a father and his son to indicate that the son is being referred to rather than the father.
• OuachitaA member of a Native American tribe who lived along the Ouachita River in Louisiana, affiliated with and now subsumed into the Caddo.
• dolomiteAn evaporite consisting of a mixed calcium and magnesium carbonate, with the chemical formula CaMg(CO₃)₂; it also exists as the rock dolostone.
• burlesqueParodical; parodic
• RomulusThe legendary founder of Rome and the twin brother of Remus.
• charadeA genre of riddles where the clues to the answer are descriptions or puns on its syllables, with a final clue to the whole.
• bobbinA spool or cylinder around which wire is coiled.
• mondialWorldwide, global.
• OrlyA city and commune of the department of Val-de-Marne, region of Île-de-France, France.
• LatourA surname from French.
• currantA small dried grape, usually the Black Corinth grape.
• sportifSynonym of cyclosportive.
• AlphonseA male given name from the Germanic languages.
• accoladeAn expression of approval; praise.
• RenduA surname from French.
• envisageTo conceive or see something within one's mind; to imagine or envision.
• geodesicThe shortest curve between two points on a specific surface.
• BrazzavilleThe capital and largest city in the Republic of the Congo.
• BroussardA surname from French.
• flamboyantShowy, bold or audacious in behaviour, appearance, style, etc.; ostentatious.
• HoloceneOf a geologic epoch within the Quaternary period from about the year 10 000 BC to the present; the age of man.
• CrusoeA surname from French, famously held by
• bayardA bay horse