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Appendix B

Foreign Phrases

Many phrases and expressions from foreign languages have found a place in every-
day English among the better educated. Some of them have been adopted and have
found their way into everyone’s vocabulary, while some remain foreign yet are used
often enough to be worth listing here. A disproportionate number of the words are
Latin and French. This should not be a surprise, considering the prominent roles
that the French played in our history and literature and that the Romans, whose
language was Latin, played in the history of Europe and Britain.
Letters in brackets stand for the language from which the phrase comes, as follows:

Ar., Arabic
Fr., French
Ger., German

Haw., Hawaiian
Heb., Hebrew
Ire., Irish
It., Italian
L., Latin
Sp., Spanish

Foreign Phrase Definition

adeste fidelis [L.] always faithful
ad hoc [L.] temporary

à droite [Fr.] on the right
affaire d’honneur [Fr.] a matter of honor
à gauche [Fr.] on the left

à la rigeur [Fr.] strictly speaking; if absolutely needed
(continued)

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