Words From Other Languages — Set 2: Meanings flashcards
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The second 100 of the 200 borrowed words, from laissez-faire and schadenfreude to kvetch and hygge: pronunciation, a plain definition, three example sentences, the most common use first, and usually the word's origin.
Learn deck · part of Words From Other Languages · written against: 200 loanwords English still feels as borrowed; American pronunciation, etymologies per Merriam-Webster; our own selection. Updated 2026-10-10.
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laissez-faire (n., adj.) · les-ay-FAIRa policy under which government stays out of business matters; (adj.) hands-off, leaving others to run things their own wayFrench
Critics blamed decades of laissez-faire for the town's polluted river.
Their laissez-faire approach to parenting meant no bedtime and no curfew.
Our coach's laissez-faire style left the team to plan its own drills.
Origin: Laissez faire, "let (people) do (as they choose)," is the French command form of laisser faire. -
rapprochement (n.) · ra-prohsh-MAHNTa warming of ties between countries or groups that were once hostile to each otherFrench
The rapprochement between the neighboring states reopened a border closed for decades.
Trade talks were the first step toward a rapprochement after years of sanctions.
After the bitter strike, the union and the company slowly worked toward rapprochement.
Origin: French, from rapprocher, "to bring together." -
rucksack (n.) · RUHK-sak(chiefly British) a backpack, especially a sturdy one for hiking or travelGerman & Dutch
She packed a sweater and trail snacks in her rucksack.
Travelers with heavy rucksacks crowded the hostel's narrow hallway.
A battered canvas rucksack hung by the cabin door.
Origin: German, from German dialect, from Rucken, "back," + Sack, "sack." -
poltergeist (n.) · POHL-tur-gighsta ghost that, people say, bangs and knocks and sends objects moving or flyingGerman & Dutch
The family blamed a poltergeist for the lights flickering on and off.
The old inn advertises its resident poltergeist to attract tourists.
Dad joked that a poltergeist kept hiding his car keys.
Origin: German, from poltern, "to knock," + Geist, "spirit." -
mano a mano (adv., adj.) · mah-noh ah MAH-nohhead to head, with one person pitted against another in a contest or fight; involving two rivals face to faceItalian & Spanish
Down the final straightaway, Lin and Okafor raced mano a mano.
The candidates met mano a mano in a heated televised debate.
Fans packed the gym for the point guards' mano a mano showdown.
Watch out: Spanish mano means "hand"; the phrase is literally "hand to hand," not "man to man." -
mensch (n.) · MENSHa decent, honorable person who does the right thing, especially for othersYiddish & Hebrew
Our landlord is a real mensch: he fixed the heat at midnight.
Be a mensch and help your grandmother carry the groceries.
The coach was a mensch who drove players home after late games.
Origin: Yiddish mentsh, "human being." -
modus operandi (n.) · moh-duhs ah-puh-RAN-deesomeone's habitual way of getting things done; the signature methods a criminal uses again and againLatin & Greek
Arriving early and staying late is the coach's modus operandi.
The scammer's modus operandi was a fake text about an unpaid toll.
Detectives linked the burglaries because they shared a modus operandi.
Origin: New Latin, first recorded in English in 1654. -
honcho (n.) · HAHN-chohthe person in charge of a group or operation; the boss (informal)Asian Languages
Ask the head honcho if we can leave early.
She's the honcho in charge of the stadium's food stands.
Network honchos canceled the show after one season.
Origin: Japanese hanchō, "squad leader," from han, "squad," + chō, "head, chief." -
vizier (n.) · vuh-ZEERa high official, especially a chief minister, in the Ottoman Empire or other Muslim states; any powerful chief adviserMiddle Eastern Languages
The sultan's grand vizier ran the empire's daily affairs.
In the play, the treacherous vizier poisons the sultan's food taster.
Columnists called the governor's chief of staff her vizier.
Origin: Turkish vezir, from Arabic wazīr. -
troika (n.) · TROY-kuha group of three people or powers sharing leadership; a three-horse Russian sleigh or carriage, its horses side by sideOther Languages
A troika of senior editors now runs the newspaper.
The lenders' troika demanded spending cuts in exchange for loans.
Bells jingled as the troika raced across the snowy field.
Origin: Russian troĭka, from troe, "three."
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Checked against:
- Senses, parts of speech and pronunciations checked against Merriam-Webster.com, the American Heritage Dictionary, Random House and Collins (via Dictionary.com) and the Oxford Learner's, Longman and Cambridge learner's dictionaries; source-language forms against Duden, Treccani and Larousse; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
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