The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (60 page)

pot-au-feu (pot o fa) FRENCH [pot
on the fire] noun (plural pot-au-feux)
(in French cuisine) a dish of boiled
meat and vegetables.

poteen (poteen, pacheen) IRISH
GAELIC [poitin little pot] noun (in
Ireland) illicitly distilled liquor, typically made from potatoes, and usually
very strong.

pot pourri (po paree, po $aree), potpourri FRENCH [rotten pot] noun a

mixture of dried flower heads and
petals, herbs, and spices that are placed
in a room in order to fill it with scent;
can also refer more generally to any
medley or miscellaneous collection:
"The book is a pot pourri of recollections
and memories of a bygone age."

pouf (poof), pouffe FRENCH [from
pouf something inflated] noun an ottoman, a footstool, a large firm cushion.

poulet (pool) FRENCH [chicken]
noun a chicken (especiall), in reference to a chicken-based dish).

pourboire (poorbwahr) FRENCH [from
pour boire for drinking] noun a tip or
gratuity.

pour encourager les autres (por
onkoorahzha), layz otra) FRENCH [to
encourage the others, quoting the
French writer Voltaire (1694-1778)]
adverb phrase as an example to others
(usuall), referring to the punishment
or humiliation of an individual as a
lesson to others to do better): "The
general feeling was that the captain
had been sacrfced pour encourager les
autres."

pourparler (porgyla)') FRENCH [to
discuss] noun a preliminary discussion (especiall), with regard to international diplomacy).

pousse-cafe (poos kafo) FRENCH
[push coffee, coffee chaser] noun an after-dinner drink in which several differently colored liqueurs are
poured into a glass so as to form
separate layers.

POWWOW (WOW) NARRAGANSETT
[from powwaw shaman] noun a Native
American medicine man or shaman;
can also refer to a traditional Native
American ceremony or social gathering and, by extension, to any social
get-together or discussion meeting.
-verb to hold a social gathering or
discuss something: "Tom Sawyer called
the hogs ingots,' and he called the turnips
and stuff julery,' and we would go to the
cave and powwow over what we had done,
and how many people we had killed and
marked" (Mark Twain, The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, 1884).

pp. See PIANISSIMO.

p.p. See PER PROCURATIONEM.

praecognitum (preekogleetam) LATIN
[something learned beforehand, from
praecognoscere to know beforehand]
noun (plural praecognita, preekogneeta) something that must be
known before something else can be
understood.

praenomen (preenoman) LATIN [prename] noun (plural praenomens or
praenomina, preenomana) a first
name, a forename, a personal name
(originally the first of the three names
borne by males in ancient Rome).

praesidium See PRESIDIUM.

praetorium (preetoree2m) LATIN [from
praetorius belonging to a praetor] noun
(plural praetoria, preetoreea) the
quarters of the praetorian guard in
Rome; by extension, the court or palace of any ruler in classical times or the
tent of a Roman general in a military
camp.

praline ( een, payleen) FRENCH
[after the French soldier Marshal de
Plessis-Praslin (1598-1675), whose
cook created the first praline mixtures] noun a confection made from
chopped nuts and caramelized sugar,
or a chocolate filled with such a mixture.

pralltriller (trilar) GERMAN [bouncing trill] noun a musical ornament
consisting of a quick alternation of the
written tone and the tone above it.

praxis ( sds) GREEK [action, doing,
from prassein to do, to practice] noun
(plural praxes, prakseez) action,
practice, customary way of doing
things; may also refer to the exercise of a particular art, science, or
skill.

pre- (pree) LATIN [from prae- before]
prefix before, e.g., predate, prejudge.

precentor (preesentar) LATIN [from
praecentor leader of the music] noun a cleric who is in charge of the vocal
music in a church or cathedral.

precis (praysee, praysee) FRENCH
[precise] noun (plural precis,
pratseez) a concise summary of the main
points of an argument or theory: "Students were asked to prepare a precis of the
inaugural speech." -verb to summarize
something.

premier (prameer, prameear, ee- meear, remeeSr) FRENCH [first,
chief, leading] adjective the first in
importance, rank, or quality; the earliest. 'noun a prime minister, a chief
minister, head of state: "Plans are being
made for a summit conference between the
president and the premiers of several European countries."

premier cru (prameea kroo, pramya
kroo) FRENCH [first growth] noun
phrase (plural premiers crus) a topquality wine.

premier danseur (prameea donser,
pramya donser) FRENCH [first
dancer] noun phrase (plural premiers danseurs) the principal male
dancer in a ballet company. noun
phrase, feminine premiere danseuse
(prameea donserz, pram),a donserz)
the principal ballerina in a ballet
company.

premiere (premeeair), premiere
FRENCH [feminine of premier first] noun
a first performance or exhibition of something: "Many of Hollywood's finest
turned out for the premiere of the movie."
-adjective principal, first, chief, leading. verb to present a first performance or exhibition of something.

presidium (presideeam, prezideeam),
praesidium RUSSIAN [from prezidium, ultimately from Latin praesidium
garrison] noun (plural presidiums
or presidia, presidee5, prezidee5)
the executive committee of an organization or state (especially, formerly,
a communist state): "The matter will
be brought before the presidium next
week."

prestissimo (prestisamo) ITALIAN
[from presto quick] adverb (in music)
faster than presto. 'adjective very
fast.

presto (estO) r ITALIAN [fast, soon,
ultimately from Latin praesto at hand]
interjection there! voila! see!: "There
was not one thing to remind us that we
were in Russia. Me walked for some little
distance, reveling in this home vision, and
then we came upon a church and a hackdriver, and presto! the illusion vanished!"
(Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad, 1869).
-adverb (in music) quickly, fast; immediately, suddenly. adjective (in music)
fast, rapid; immediate, sudden. noun
a piece of music written to be played
at a rapid pace.

pret-a-porter (pret a port y) FRENCH
[ready to wear] noun ready-to-wear clothing, off-the-rack clothes, readymade. 'adjective of or relating to
ready-to-wear clothing.

pretzel (r~etzal) GERMAN [from
Brezel, ultimately from Latin bracellus
bracelet] noun a German variety of
hard, glazed, salted bread traditionally baked in loose knots and other
shapes.

preux chevalier (prashavaleea) FRENCH
[valiant knight] noun phrase a chivalrous knight, a gallant knight.

prie-dieu (pree-t) FRENCH [pray
God] noun (plural prie-dieux) a prayer
stool with a raised shelf at which the
faithful kneel to pray in church; can
also refer to a type of low armless
upholstered chair with a low seat and
a high straight back.

prima ballerina (preema balareena)
ITALIAN [leading ballerina] noun phrase
the principal ballerina in a ballet company; a ballerina of the first rank: "As a
girl she had dreamed of the moment when
she would advance into the spotlight in the
pink tutu of a prima ballerina."

prima donna (preema dona) ITALIAN
[first lady] noun phrase a principal
female singer in an opera company
or concert group; can also refer to
any person who is known for being
self-important, vain, over-sensitive,
petulant, or temperamental: `Because
of the financial pressures, few directors

have much patience with prima donnas in
the modren theater."

prima facie (prima fshee, preema
f ysha, prima fusee, preema f4see5)
LATIN [at first sight] adverb phrase at
first view, on the face of it, on the surface. 'adjective phrase valid, true, selfevident, apparent, legally satisfactory:
"To many people, the suspect's attempts to
flee the scene were prima facie evidence of
his guilt."

primavera (preemavaira) ITALIAN
[from alla primavera in the spring style]
adjective denoting a pasta dish that is
made with a variety of sliced vegetables: "One of the house specialties is pasta
primavera."

primigravida (primagravida) LATIN
[from primus first and gravidus pregnant] noun (in medicine) a woman
who is pregnant for the first time.

primogenitor (primoj-enata) LATIN
[from prim us first and genitor begetter]
noun ancestor, forefather.

primum mobile (primum mobalee,
preemam mobalee) LATIN [first moving thing] noun phrase (plural primum
mobiles) a prime mover, a main
fount of activity, energy, or motion.

primus inter pares (primus inta
pebreez, preemas inta pehreez) LATIN
[first among equals] noun phrase first
among equals.

prix fixe (pree feeks, pree fiks)
FRENCH [fixed price] noun phrase an
entire meal that is charged at a fixed
price, a fixed-price menu: "The restaurant has two menus, one d la carte and the
other operating on a prixfixe basis."

pro (pro) LATIN [for, in favor of] noun
an argument or evidence in favor of
a proposition or theory: "We could
spend all evening debating the pros and
cons of the situation." -preposition for,
in support of, in favor of. -adjective
supporting, favoring. adverb in favor,
favoring, in affirmation.

pro-' (pro) LATIN [in front of or in
behalf of] prefix in favor of, supporting, e.g., pro-British, pro-life.

pro 2 (pro) GREEK [before] prefix
before, forward, e.g., proactive, prologue.

pro bono publico (pro bong publiko)
LATIN [for the public good] adjective
phrase for the good of society, in
the interests of everyone (often referring to legal work done for no fee).
'abbreviated form pro bono.

proces-verbal (prosav verbahl) FRENCH
[proceedings, verbal trial] noun (plural
proces-verbaux, prosay verbo) an
official written record of legal or
other proceedings.

proconsul (prokonsal) LATIN [from
pro consule for the consul] noun a
governor or military commander of

a province of ancient Rome; may also
refer to an administrator of a colony,
dependency, or occupied territory:
"Do you know, I always, from the very
beginning, regretted that it wasn't your
sister's fate to be born in the second
or third century A.D., as the daughter
of a reigning prince or some governor
or proconsul in Asia Minor" (Fyodor
Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment,
1866).

profiterole (prafitarol) FRENCH
[diminutive of profit profit] noun a
small puff pastry with a cream or
other filling, often covered in chocolate
sauce.

pro forma (pro forma) LATIN [for
form, in accordance with form] adjective phrase for the sake of form, as a
matter of form, as a formality -noun
an invoice sent in advance of goods
supplied: "Full details of the shipment
are given on a proforma sent separately
by post."

progenitor (projenatar,
praatar) LATIN [from progignere to beget]
noun a direct ancestor or forefather;
may refer more generally to any originator, predecessor, or precursor: "This
other-self of mine is an ancestor, a progenitor of my progenitors in the early line of my
race, himself the progeny of a line that
long before his time developed fingers and
toes and climbed up into the trees" (Jack
London, Before Adam, 1906). 'noun, feminine progenitrix (proatriks,
praatriks) a female ancestor or
forebear.

prognosis (prognosis) GREEK [foreknowledge, from progignoskein to
know before] noun (plural prognoses,
prognoseez) a forecast, prediction,
or prognostication (often referring
to the predicted course of a disease):
"The doctor was kind, but his prognosis was
not good."

prolegomenon (prolagomanon) GREEK
[from progegein to say beforehand] noun
(plural prolegomena, prolagomana) a
preface or introduction to a book,
often in the form of a preliminary
discussion or treatise.

proletariat (prolataireeat) FRENCH
[from proletariat, ultimately from
Latin proles progeny] noun the laboring class or, more generally, the lower
social classes in society: "But as a
member of a revolutionary proletariat
which he undoubtedly was he nourished
a rather inimical sentiment against social
distinction" (Joseph Conrad, The Secret
Agent, 1907).

prologue (prolog), prolog GREEK
[prologos speech before] noun the
introductory section of a work, such
as a play, novel, or opera, sometimes
separate from the main work: "At
school we studied Chaucer's General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales"

promenade (proman, promenahd)
FRENCH [a walk, form promener to take
for a walk] noun a place to walk or
ride; may also refer to a formal ball
or to a procession of guests at such a
ball. verb to walk about in public, or
as if in public view.

pronto (pronto) SPANISH [from Latin
promptus prompt] adverb promptly,
immediately, quickly, without delay.

propaganda (propaganda) ITALIAN
[that which must be spread, after the
congregatio de propaganda fide organization of the Roman Catholic Church,
which works to propagate Catholic
faith] noun information, rumor,
ideas, or doctrines that are deliberately promoted in order to further
or to undermine a particular cause,
person, or organization. Can also
refer to the process of spreading such
information.

prophylactic (profalaktik) GREEK
[from prophylaktikos, from prophylassein to be on guard] noun something
that wards off disease or prevents
pregnancy (often referring to specifically to a condom). adjective of or
relating to the prevention of disease
or pregnancy.

pro rata (pro rahta) LATIN [according to the rate, from pro rate parte in
accordance with the calculated part]
adverb phrase proportionately, in proportion: "Any profits arising from
the investment will be distributed pro rata."
adjective phrase proportional, shared
proportionally. ^ abbreviated form p.r.