Foreign Words & Phrases

Over the years English language has accumulated a lot of foreign words & phrases from other languages. Such words/phrases are often a subject of questions in competitive exams.

List of Foreign Words & Phrases for Competitive Exams

• ab initio
  Latin

  from the beginning

• ad hoc
  Latin

  made or done for a particular purpose (literally ‘to this’)

• ad infinitum
  Latin

  endlessly; forever (literally ‘to infinity’)

• ad nauseam
  Latin

  to a tiresomely excessive degree (literally ‘to sickness’)

• a posteriori
  Latin

  based on reasoning from known facts or past events rather than on assumptions or predictions (literally ‘from what comes after’)

• bête noire
  French

  a person or thing one particularly dislikes (literally ‘black beast’)

• bona fide
  Latin

  genuine; real (literally ‘with good faith’)

• bon voyage
  French

  An enjoyable journey, especially abroad (literally ‘good journey’)

• carpe diem
  Latin

  make the most of the present time (literally ‘seize the day!’)

• coup de grâce
  French

  a blow by which a mortally wounded person or thing is mercifully killed (literally ‘stroke of grace’)

• coup de main
  French

  a sudden surprise attack (literally ‘stroke of hand’)

• coup d’état
  French

  a sudden violent seizure of power (literally ‘blow of state’)

• de facto
  Latin

  in fact, whether by right or not

• déjà vu
  French

  the sense of having experienced the present situation before (literally ‘already seen’)

• de jure
  Latin

  rightful; by right (literally ‘of law’)

• en masse
  French

  all together (literally ‘in a mass’)

• esprit de corps
  French

  a feeling of pride and loyalty uniting the members of a group (literally ‘spirit of body’)

• ex gratia
  Latin

  (of payment) given as a favour rather than because of any legal obligation (literally ‘from favour’)

• ex officio
  Latin

  by virtue of one’s position or status (literally ‘out of duty’)

• faux pas
  French

  an embarrassing blunder or indiscretion (literally ‘false step’)

• femme fatale
  French

  a seductive woman (literally ‘disastrous woman’)

• force majeure
  French

  superior strength

• haute couture
  French

  the designing and making of clothes by leading fashion houses (literally ‘high dressmaking’)

• in absentia
  Latin

  while not present (literally ‘in absence’)

• in toto
  Latin

  as a whole

• ipso facto
  Latin

  by that very fact or act

• magnum opus
  Latin

  the most important work of an artist, writer, etc. (literally ‘great work’)

• modus operandi
  Latin

  a way of doing something (literally ‘way of operating’)

• modus vivendi
  Latin

  an arrangement that allows conflicting parties to coexist peacefully (literally ‘way of living’)

• par excellence
  French

  better or more than all others of the same kind (literally ‘by excellence’)

• per se
  Latin

  by or in itself or themselves

• persona non grata
  Latin

  a person who is not welcome somewhere

• prima facie
  Latin

  accepted as so until proved otherwise (literally ‘at first face’)

• pro rata
  Latin

  proportional; proportionally (literally ‘according to the rate’)

• quid pro quo
  Latin

  a favour or advantage given in return for something (literally ‘something for something’)

• sine die
  Latin

  (of proceedings) adjourned indefinitely (literally ‘without a day’)

• sine qua non
  Latin

  a thing that is absolutely essential (literally ‘without which not’)

• sub judice
  Latin

  being considered by a court of law and therefore not to be publicly discussed elsewhere (literally ‘under a judge’)

• tête-à-tête
  French

  a private conversation, usually between two people

• vis-à-vis
  French

  in relation to; as compared with (literally ‘face-to-face’)

• vox populi
  Latin

  public opinion (literally ‘the voice of the people’)

» Idioms & Phrases

» List of Homophones & Homonyms

» List of Phobias