Word origins

• negociantA wine merchant who purchases grapes, grape juice, or wine in bulk from vineyards, and bottles the wine for sale.
• negotiantSomeone who conducts negotiations; a negotiator, an agent.
• negritudeThe fact of being of black African descent, especially a conscious pride in the values, cultural identity etc. of African heritage; blackness.
• nematocystA capsule, in certain cnidarians, containing a barbed, threadlike tube that delivers a paralyzing sting
• nematogenOne of the dimorphic forms of the species of Dicyema, which produce vermiform embryos
• Neo-GreekDescribing a style of French painters and architects of the mid-19th century.
• neo-NaziAn adherent of neo-Nazism, any of various (far right, authoritarian, or bigoted) post-World War II Nazi ideologies.
• nepouiteA rare apple-green nickel silicate mineral.
• NéracA city in Lot-et-Garonne department, France.
• nervosismA nervous disorder, especially neurasthenia.
• nervureA vein in the wing of an insect.
• NescaféA brand of instant coffee
• n'est-ce pasUsed to form tag questions.
• NeuchâtelA canton of Switzerland.
• Neuilly-PlaisanceA commune in Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France, France.
• neutroisChiefly of a person: having a neutral gender (being neither male nor female), and having or seeking to have no or reduced physical sexual characteristics; contrasts with agender.
• névéThe firn or snowfield at the head of a glacier.
• New CaledoniaAn archipelago and overseas territory of France in Oceania. Official name: Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies.
• New FranceA group of former French colonies in North America, existing from 1534 to 1763 in much of modern eastern Canada and the United States.
• New OrleansThe largest city in Louisiana, United States and the parish seat of Orleans Parish, which is coterminous with the city.
• new realismSynonym of nouveau réalisme
• New RochelleA city in Westchester County, New York, United States.
• new waveAny of several movements in music and film which are or were considered cutting edge.
• Nez PerceA Native American people who live in the Pacific Northwest region (Columbia River Plateau) of the United States.
• NiçoisOf, from or relating to the city of Nice, the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
• Niçoise oliveA dark olive of a cultivar grown primarily in the Alpes-Maritimes region near Nice and the Riviera di Ponente, Italy.
• nicotianineA white waxy amino acid with a hot, bitter taste, extracted from tobacco leaves.
• nielleExtremely dark black.
• niellureThe niello process.
• NîmesA city, the capital of Gard department, Occitania, southern France, formerly in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon.
• NissardA native or inhabitant of Nice.
• NivôseThe fourth month of the French Republican Calendar, from December 21, 22 or 23 to January 19, 20 or 21.
• noblesse obligeThe honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank; in American English this often includes the expectation of benevolent actions such as helping those less fortunate.
• noctambuleSynonym of noctambulist
• noctuleA bat, of the genus Nyctalus, that lives in tree hollows.
• noeud vitalThe junction between root and stem of a plant.
• NoletteA surname.
• nombrilismNavel-gazing.
• nom d'artisteA pseudonym used by an artist.
• nom de clavierA pseudonym used in online communications; a handle.
• nom de guerreA pseudonym, particularly one adopted by soldiers, revolutionaries, or resistance fighter.
• nom de webA pseudonym used when publishing on the World Wide Web.
• nominableCapable of being identified using a name.
• nonillion10³⁰.
• non-inscritAn independent politician.
• nonnatThe whitebait of certain Mediterranean fish.
• nonpareilleSynonym of nonpareil.
• non partantNot starting; not participating.
• non-refoulementThe principle that a person (particularly a refugee) should not be returned to an area (chiefly their country of origin) where they would face mistreatment.
• nopaleryA plantation of nopal (a prickly pear cactus of the genus Opuntia, especially Opuntia cochinellifera) used as food for the cochineal insect (Dactylopius coccus), which is raised to produce carmine dye.
• Nord-EstOne of the ten departments of Haiti.
• Nord-OuestOne of the ten departments of Haiti.
• noriteA granular crystalline rock consisting essentially of a triclinic feldspar (such as labradorite) and hypersthene.
• normal schoolA school for training teachers, especially in mainland Europe and North America.
• NormandeA dairy cow of a particular breed originating from Normandy, France.
• NorroyThe most northern of the English kings-of-arms, whose jurisdiction lay north of the Trent. Since 1943, the jurisdiction is Norroy and Ulster.
• nostalgie de la boueA yearning for something base or vile.
• note verbaleAn unsigned diplomatic note written in the third person, of the nature of a memorandum but sometimes considered to be more formal.
• Notre DameNotre-Dame de Paris.
• not worth the candleNot worth the cost or trouble.
• nougatineBrown nougat, made from caramelized sugar
• NouméaThe capital city of the French overseas territory New Caledonia, a natural South Sea port on its main island.
• nouveau pauvreA newly impoverished person; somebody who has recently become poor.
• nouveau réalismeAn art movement founded in Europe in 1960, characterized by a return to "reality" in opposition to abstract and figurative painting; the creation of collages and assemblages incorporating real-world objects; and the use and critique of mass-produced commercial objects, akin to American pop art.
• nouveau romanA type of 1950s French novel that diverged from classical literary genres; antinovel.
• Nouvelle-AquitaineAn administrative region in southwestern France, established in 2016 by the merger of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes.
• nouvelle cuisineA French approach to cookery, contrasted with "cuisine classique" (classical cuisine), that is typified by its lighter, more delicate dishes and emphasis on presentation.
• nouvelle vagueAn influential French film movement of the 1950s and 1960s which experimented radically in editing, visual style and narrative
• NouvianA surname from French.
• NouvionA village and commune of Somme department, Hauts-de-France, France.
• nowedKnotted; tied in a knot.
• noyadeA murder by drowning, especially one of those carried out during the French Reign of Terror.
• Noyal-PontivyA town in Morbihan department, Brittany, France.
• nucellusThe tissue which surrounds and protects the embryo and lies inside of the integuments.
• nuée ardenteA pyroclastic flow.
• nuit blancheAn all-night celebration or festival.
• nulligestA nulligravid person.
• numéraireA basic standard by which values are measured.
• nummuliteA protozoan from the Tertiary period, known only as fossils.
• nun's fartA small choux pastry eaten during carnival season in France (especially Alsace) and Belgium.
• O'BansawinA surname from Abenaki
• objet d'artA work of art with some artistic merit.
• objet de vertuAn object of particular interest for reasons of history, workmanship etc.
• objet trouvéSynonym of found object.
• ObockA wadi in Obock, Djibouti, Horn of Africa
• ObservantineOf or pertaining to the Observant branch of Franciscan friars
• obviativeA grammatical marker that distinguishes a relatively non-salient referent in a given context from a relatively salient (proximate) one.
• OccitanieOccitania: an administrative region in southern France.
• OclairA surname from French.
• octaplesSynonym of octapla.
• octavateTo resonate or sound one octave higher or lower.
• octillionA thousand trillion trillion, a billion billion billion: 1 followed by 27 zeros, 10²⁷.
• octuorSynonym of octet (“a composition for eight instruments or voices”).
• ocularistSomeone who specializes in the fabrication and fitting of ocular prostheses for people who have lost an eye or eyes due to trauma or illness.
• oculistAn eye doctor: either an ophthalmologist or an optometrist.
• odour of sanctityA sweet smell, usually likened to that of flowers, said to be emitted by the bodies of saints during their life, or especially at or after death.
• œil-de-bœufbull's eye, oculus
• œil-de-perdrixA small, round figure; a decorative dot.
• oeilladeA glance, especially an amorous one; an ogle
• oeuf en cocotteA dish consisting of eggs cooked in butter in individual cocottes or ramekins.