French words

It takes only the briefest look at the pages of this book to see what a large debt English owes to French. This is in part because when the Normans (themselves descended from Vikings) conquered the English in 1066, Old English became the language of the lower classes, with the Norman dialect of French spoken by those in power. This remained the case until gradually the two languages evolved a common form in the later Middle Ages. However, French, now more closely aligned with Parisian French, remained a language of the elite, and indeed a knowledge of French remained a mark of the educated until very recently. The French got their name from the Franks who had invaded France once Roman power weakened, which explains why there are a number of Germanic words in French, although the Franks mostly adopted the Latin-descended language of the people, itself with a number of words adopted from Gaulish, the Celtic language spoken before the Roman conquest.

 The French were already known for the skill of their cooks when the French Revolution of 1789 left their master chefs without aristocrats to work for. Many came to work in England, bringing with them a long-lasting habit of writing a smart menu [M19th], from the term meaning ‘detailed list’ in French, and we still use many French terms in cookery, such as haute cuisine [E20th] ‘high cookery’ (haute couture is also E20th); cordon bleu [M18th] ‘blue ribbon’, which once signified the highest order of chivalry under the French kings; à la carte [E19th], literally ‘according to the (menu) card’. We eat hors d’ oeuvres [M18th], literally ‘outside the work’, because rather than being a first course they originally played the part of what is now called an amuse- bouche [M20th], literally ‘amuse-mouth’; we may also eat a madeleine [E19th], a meringue [E18th] of unknown etymology, or an eclair [M19th] ‘lightning’. These would be off the menu after Mardi Gras [L17th], ‘fat Tuesday’ or Shrove Tuesday, the day before the restricted foods of Lent.

 French is useful if you want to be mildly euphemistic about something risqué [M19th] or ‘risked’ such as a play on words that is a double entendre [L17th] a ‘double understanding’. Or if a femme fatale [L19th], perhaps a blonde [LME] with a boudoir [L18th], literally a ‘sulking place’, whose behaviour is not considered de rigueur [M19th] ‘in strictness, required’ exploits your billet-doux (see billet) ‘sweet letter’ or love letter.

 In business French has given us the boutique [M18th], whose origin goes back to Greek apothēkē ‘storehouse’, source also of apothecary [LME], the *bureau, and the entrepreneur [E19th], originally the director of a musical institution, which comes from entreprendre ‘to undertake’ (as does enterprise [LME]), who may prefer government to be laissez- faire [E19th]. The fashion business has given us innumerable words such as chenille [M18th], the velvety yarn getting its name from the French for a hairy caterpillar, going back to the Latin canicula, an equally hairy ‘little dog’; chiffon [M18th], originally a term for ‘trimmings’ and from chiffe ‘rag’; cravat [M17th] from the word meaning ‘Croat’, as it was Croatian mercenaries who introduced the style; lingerie [M19th] from linge ‘linen’; and toupee [E18th], originally a lock of artificial hair from toup ‘tuft’. The quintessentially French chic [M19th] is, surprisingly, probably a French borrowing from German Schick ‘skill’.

 Sometimes a French phrase just has a certain something or je ne sais quoi [M17th] that just cannot be said in English. Such phrases include bête noire [M19th] ‘black beast’ or bane of your life; enfant terrible [M19th] for an unconventional person (literally ‘terrible child’); a shrugging c’est la vie [M19th] ‘that’s life’; or plus ça change—short for plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, ‘the more it changes, the more it stays the same’, an 1849 quotation by the French writer Alphonse Karr (1808–90). A mot juste [L19th] is exactly the right word, and a bon mot [M18th] ‘good saying’ is a witticism, but neither are any use if they are an esprit d’ escalier [E20th] literally ‘spirit of the staircase’, used for repartee that you think of on your way out or after the event.

 While many words from French have acquired a thoroughly English pronunciation, some such as cabaret [M17th], literally a ‘wooden structure’, croquet [M19th] perhaps from a dialect word for ‘little hook’, and echelon [L18th] from echelle ‘ladder’ have kept their French sounds. Others are still in the process of moving from French pronunciation to English. There was great debate in the early 20th century as to the correct pronunciation of garage [E20th], from garer ‘to shelter’, and there are still several accepted pronunciations. Similarly, is niche [E17th] from the French for a ‘recess’ from nicher ‘make a nest’ pronounced to rhyme with quiche [E20th, of unknown origin] or itch? Both are listed in dictionaries. The same applies to dossier ([L19th] from French dos ‘back’, referring to a bundle of papers with an identifying label on the back); some pronounce it in the French way, some as a native English word.

 See also avant-garde, bidet, blancmange, boulevard, bric-a-brac, brigadier, brochure, brusque, calorie, canape, camouflage, chauffeur, chute, clairvoyant, clarinet, cope, cream, dance, depot, discotheque, dossier, emancipate, façade, footle, gargantuan, gigolo, grog, hotel, limousine, loo, louvre, may, mortuary, nonchalant, pedigree, person, plumb, porter, renaissance, sabotage, second, silhouette, triage, tutu, vignette.