The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (30 page)

fanfaronade (fanfaran) FRENCH
[bragging, derived from Spanish fanfarron braggart] noun empty boasting or
bluster: "The rivals for governor tried to
outwit one another with their fanfaronades."

fantasia (fantzha) ITALIAN [fantasy] noun a musical composition
distinguished by its fanciful structure
or else incorporating selections from
other works: "His new work, a fantasia
that rejected the conventional forms of the
day, was received with some puzzlement by
its first audience."

farandole (farandol) FRENCH [probably derived from Portuguese fa make
and roundelo round dance] noun a
lively communal chain dance from Provencal, France, or the music associated
with it.

farce (fahrS) FRENCH [stuffing] noun
a stage comedy featuring ridiculous
situations and exaggerated characters,
and thus "stuffed" for laughs, or more
generally a state of affairs that has
descended into laughable chaos: "After
the bride broke down in giggles the ceremony was quickly reduced to a farce."

farceur (fahrser) FRENCH [derived
from farcer to joke] noun a writer or
performer of farce, or more broadly
a practical joker or trickster: "...and
joke Offutt (a gang-politician, a small
manufacturer, a tobacco-chewing old farceur who enjoyed dirty politics, business
diplomacy, and cheating at poker) had
only ten per cent..." (Sinclair Lewis,
Babbitt, 1922).

farci (fahrsee) FRENCH [past participle
of farcir to stuff] adjective stuffed,
usually with forcemeat.

farfalle (fahrfalay, fahrfalee) ITALIAN
[butterflies] noun pasta made in the
shape of bow-ties or butterflies: "Children tend to like farfalle because it looks
like butterflies."

farouche (faroosh) FRENCH [wild,
derived from Latin foras out of doors]
adjective wild, or shy, sullen, unsociable: "But he was by naturefarouche; his
soul revolted against dinner parties and
stiff shirts; and the presence of ladies
especially of fashionable ladies-filled
him with uneasiness" (Lytton Strachey,
Eminent Victorians, 1918).

farrago (farahgo) LATIN [mixed fodder]
noun (plural farragos or farragoes)
a jumble, confused mixture, or
hodgepodge: "The less I understood of
this farrago, the less I was in a position
to judge of its importance; and an appeal
so worded could not be set aside without
a grave responsibility" (Robert Louis
Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1886).

fartlek (fahrtlek) SWEDISH [speed
play] noun a system of training used
especially by distance runners, in
which speed and intensity are continually varied within each session.

fascia (fysha, fasheea) LATIN [band]
noun (plural fasciae, fshiee, or
fascias, fsh5z) an instrumental
panel, dashboard or, in architecture,
a horizontal piece of boarding, band
of wood, or nameplate above a shop
window: "He ran an appreciative hand
over the walnut fascia so evocative of a forgotten era of motoring."Also, in anatomy,
a sheet of connective tissue surrounding a muscle or organ. It can also refer
to a protective casing covering the
front of a cellphone.

fata morgana (fahta morgahna) ITALIAN
[fairy Morgana] noun phrase Morgan
le Fay, the treacherous fairy sorceress identified as the sister of the
legendary King Arthur and sometimes described as living in Calabria, Italy. Also, a mirage, especially

one seen in the Straits of Messina
between southern Italy and Sicily;
by extension anything that is illusory
in nature.

fatwa (fatwa) ARABIC [legal ruling,
from afta to give a legal decision] noun
ruling or decree issued by a religious
authority on a point of Islamic law:
"The ayatollah's fatwa was widely condemned in the Western press."

fauna (fahna) LATIN [after Fauna,
Roman goddess of the groves] noun
(plural faunas or faunae, fahnee,
fahni) animal life, especially the
range of wildlife typical of a given
place or environment, as distinct
from the flora (plant life) of the area:
"But it appeared that she had come once
as a small child, when the geography of
the place was entirely d(erent, and the
fauna included certainly flamingoes and,
possibly, camels" (Virginia Woolf, Night
and Day, 1919).

faute de mieux (fot da meea) FRENCH
[want of better] adverb phrase for
want of better, in the absence of anything better being available. -adjective phrase accepted in the absence
of a better alternative: "He has taken
something more than his fair share in
the cathedral services, and has played the
violoncello daily to such audiences as he
could collect, or, faute de miens, to no
audience at all" (AnthonyTrollope, The
Warden, 1855).

fauteuil (fotoi, fotoi) FRENCH [armchair] noun an upholstered chair
with arms, typically such a seat in a
theater: "Already the cold sweat started
on my brow, already I glanced back over
my shoulder at the closed door, when, to
my unspeakable relief, my eye, wandering
mildly in the direction of the stove, rested
upon a second figure, seated in a large
fauteuil beside it" (Charlotte Bronte, The
Professor, 1857).

fauve (fov) FRENCH [wild animal]
noun an artist associated with fauvism, an early-20th-century school
of art favoring the unrestrained use
of color. adjective of or relating to
fauvism or artists associated with the
movement.

fauvism (fOVishm) FRENCH [fromfauve
wild animal] noun an early-20th-century French art movement favoring the
unrestrained use of color.

faux (fo) FRENCH [false] adjective
artificial or imitation, used especially
in relation to fashion and interior
design: "You have a faux air' of Nebuchadnezzar in the fields about you, that
is certain: your hair reminds me of eagles'
feathers; whether your nails are grown
like birds' claws or not, I have not yet
noticed" (Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre,
1847).

faux amis (foz amee) FRENCH [false
friends] noun phrase words from

two different languages that have
different meanings despite being
misleadingly similar or identical in
appearance: "The French word `assister'
and the English word `assist' are faux
amis apt to cause confusion; French assister' means to attend."'

faux-naif (fo-nieef) FRENCH [from faux
false and naf ingenuous] noun a person who makes a pretense of innocence. -adjective of or relating to a
person or work of art purposely projecting a misleadingly simple or artless
appearance.

faux pas (fo tea) FRENCH [false
step] noun phrase (plural faux pas, fo
Pak) a mistake or social blunder:
"She blushed crimson, suddenly conscious
of the faux pas she had committed in mentioning his name."

favela (favela) PORTUGUESE [after
Favela, the name of a hill near Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil] noun a humble shelter
or shanty typical of the slums located
on the outskirts of many cities.

fax See FACSIMILE.

fecit (fkit) LATIN [he/she made,
he/she did] verb made by, done by
(usually in relation to a work of art):
"Certainly, sir; for the Dutch Antiquaries
claim Caligula as the founder of a lighthouse, on the sole authority of the letters
C.C.P.E, which they interpret Caius Caligula Pharum Fecit" (Walter Scott, The Antiquary, 1816).

feldsher (feldsher) GERMAN [feld field
and scherer barber or surgeon] noun a
medical auxiliary or medical practitioner lacking formal qualifications.

felix culpa (fa),liks kulpa) LATIN [happy
fault] noun phrase a lucky mistake or
error that turns out to have beneficial
consequences.

felucca (feluuka) ITALIAN noun a
single-sailed boat of the Mediterranean region, still in use today on
the Nile: "She had wanted to annex that
apparently quiet and steady young man,
affectionate and pliable, an orphan from
his tenderest age, as he had told her, with
no ties in Italy except an uncle, owner and
master of a felucca, from whose ill-usage
he had run away before he was fourteen"
(Joseph Conrad, Nostromo, 1904).

feme covert (feem kovart) FRENCH
[covered woman, from femme woman
and couverte covered] noun phrase a
married woman who enjoys protection in law through her husband.

feme sole (feem sol) FRENCH [single
woman, from femme woman and seule
alone] noun phrase a legal term for
an unmarried woman, widow, or
divorcee, or formerly a woman who
trades in business independently of
her husband.

femme de chambre (fam da shombra,
fem da shombra) FRENCH [woman of
the chamber] noun phrase a chambermaid, a lady's maid: "The femme de
chambre arrived to turn down the bed."

femme du monde (fam da mond,
fem da mond) FRENCH [woman of
the world] noun phrase a worldly
woman, or a woman of sophistication
or society: "In Paris she quickly acquired
a reputation as a femme du monde, playing
host to scores of artists and, more importantly, their aristocratic patrons."

femme fatale (fam fatal, fem fatal)
FRENCH [fatal woman] noun phrase
(plural femmes fatales, fam fatal, fem
fatal, fam fatals, fem fatals) a dan -
gerously seductive woman likely to
use her mysterious allure to entice
admirers into difficult situations: "She
specialized in playing the kind of unflappable femme fatale who provokes dutiful
wives to heights of jealous fury."

femme savante (fam savors )
FRENCH [learned woman] noun phrase
an erudite or scholarly woman (often
used derogativel),): "In the process of
winning recognition as a femme savante,
she unfortunately had discarded the last
traces of the little charm she had once
had"

feng-shui kwg, feng shooee)
CHINESE [from feng wind and shui
water] noun belief system based on the notion that buildings and landscape features are inhabited by spirits
who must be appeased so that people
can live in harmony with the environment. Introduced to the West in
recent years as a lifestyle skill, as
expressed through interior decoration
in particular: "Put quite simply, feng shui
is a method of arranging our environment
to be as beneficial as possible to us" (Richard Craze, Feng Shui, 1999).

ferae naturae (feri nacOti) LATIN
[of wild nature] adjective phrase
undomesticated (used especially of
wild animals): "The lower classes, in this
duel of Authority with Authority, Greek
throttling Greek, have ceased to respect the
City-Watch: Police-satellites are marked
on the back with chalk (the M signfes
mouchard, spy); they are hustled, hunted
like ferae naturae" (Thomas Carlyle,
History of the French Revolution, 1837).

fest (fest) GERMAN [feast] noun a
celebration or festive gathering: "One
of the liveliest banquets that has recently
been pulled off occurred last night in the
annual Get-Together Fest of the Zenith
Real Estate Board, held in the Venetian
Ball Room of the O'Hearn House" (Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt, 1922).

-fest (fest) GERMAN [festival] suffix
(informal) denoting an occasion or
meeting, e.g., songfest, or a prolonged
bout of a particular activity, e.g.,
blubfest.

festina lente (festeena lenta) LATIN
[make haste slowly] noun phrase more
haste, less speed: "Recollect yourself,
I pray, And be careful what you say
As the ancient Romans said, festina
lente" (Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe,
1882).

Festschrift (festshrift) GERMAN [from
Fest celebration and Schrift writing]
noun a celebratory volume of writings by various authors compiled as
a special commemorative tribute to a
scholar, often on his or her retirement:
"This volume, a Festschr ft presented to the
professor on his 60th birthday, contains 15
papers written by appreciative scholars."

feta (fetd) GREEK [from tyri pheta
slice of cheese] noun crumbly
white cheese made from sheep's or
goat's milk: "A Greek salad always
includes olives and feta."

fete (fayt, fet), fete FRENCH [festival]
noun a festival, fair, or party: "`Will
you be at Madame Rolandaky's fete?' asked
Anna, to change the conversation" (LeoTolstoy, Anna Karenina, 1873 77). -verb to
celebrate or pay honor to.

Me champetre (fet shompetra)
FRENCH [rural festival] noun phrase a
garden party or pastoral entertainment: "To-morrow morning, sir, we give
a public breakfast a fete champetre to
a great number of those who have rendered themselves celebrated by their works and talents" (Charles Dickens, Pickwick
Papers, 1837).

fete galante (fet galon ) FRENCH
[courteous festival] noun phrase rural
or outdoors entertainment.

fettucine (fetoocheenee) ITALIAN
[diminutive of fetta slice or ribbon]
plural noun a form of ribbon-shaped
pasta, also the name for a dish of this.

fetus (feetas) LATIN [offspring] noun
an unborn child, usually from three
months after conception, or other
unborn or unhatched vertebrate: It is
now possible to detect a range of physical
abnormalities through examination of the
unborn fetus."

feu d'artifice (fo dahrtifis) FRENCH
[fire of artifice] noun phrase (plural feux
d'artifice, fo dahtifis) a firework or
firework display.

feu de joie (fo da zhwa) FRENCH
[fire of joy] noun phrase (plural feux de
joie) a fusillade of guns fired in salute,
or more generally a celebration.

feuilleton (fa),aton , foiyaton ,
fooiton(g)) FRENCH [diminutive of
feuillet sheet of paper] noun a section
of a newspaper devoted to entertainment, or a novel or other literary work
published in installments: "`The press
has fallen heir to the Woman, exclaimed
Rastignac. She no longer has the quality of

a spoken feuilleton delightful calumnies
graced by elegant language"' (Honore de Balzac, Another Study of Woman,
1842).

fez (fez) TURKISH [after the town of
Fez, Morocco] noun (plural fezzes
or fezes) a flat-topped brimless felt
hat, often red and decorated with a tassel, worn by men in various countries
of the eastern Mediterranean: "He was
wearing another elegant English suit with
a bright little fez on his head" (Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, 1862).

FE See FORTISSIMO.