The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) (75 page)

vale (vahla),) LATIN [from valere to be
well] interjection farewell, good-bye.
'"noun a greeting or farewell.

valet (value, valay, valat) FRENCH
[young nobleman, page, ultimately
from Latin vassallus manservant]
noun a man's personal servant, or a
person employed by a hotel or other
institution to perform various domestic services on behalf of customers:
"But I quitted France five years ago, and,
wishing to taste the sweets of domestic life,
took service as a valet here in England"
(Jules Verne, Around the World in 80
Days, 1873). verb to act as a valet to
someone, or to clean something for
a customer (t),pically clothes or the
customer's car) .

valet de chambre (vala), da shombra)
FRENCH [chamber valet] noun phrase
(plural valets de chambre) a man's personal servant, whose duties typically include care of clothes and other
domestic chores: "The duke sent a message via his valet de chambre."

valet de place (valay da lamas) FRENCH
[manservant of place] noun phrase a
courier, a person who acts as a guide
for tourists.

Valhalla (valhala) OLD NORSE [Valholl
hall of the slain, from valr battle-slain
warriors and hol] hall] noun (in
Norse mythology) the great hall of
Odin in which dead heroes feast
with the gods and recount their
adventures; may also refer more
generally to heaven or the afterlife:
"The Vikings showed no fear, dying in the
full expectation of dining with the gods
in Valhalla."

valise (valees) FRENCH [from Italian valigia, itself from Latin valesial
noun a suitcase or portmanteau:
"That evening Miss Barry gave Diana
a silver bangle bracelet and told the
senior members of the household that she
had unpacked her valise" (Lucy Maud
Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables,
1908).

vamoose (vamoos) SPANISH [from
vamos let us go] verb to leave quickly,
to make a rapid exit: "The kids vamoosed
as soon as they saw the owners returning."

Vanitas (vanitas) LATIN [vanity] noun
(in 17th-century Dutch art) a still life featuring various emblems of mortality and the transience of life.

vanitas vanitatum (vanitas vanitahtam) LATIN [vanity of vanities, as
quoted in Ecclesiastes] interjection
vanity of vanities (quoted as a caution
against human pride and reminding
the ambitious of the futility of existence): Ah! Vanitas Vanitatum! which
of us is happy in this world? Which of us
has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?"
(William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1847-48).

vaporetto (vapareto) ITALIAN [diminutive of vapore steamboat] noun
(plural vaporettos or vaporetti, vaparetee) in Venice a motorboat used as
a form of public transport on a canal
(usually for short journeys): "The
party opted to take the vaporetto to the
square of St. Mark's."

vaquero (vakair0) SPANISH [from
vaca cow] noun a cowboy or cattle
driver in Spanish-speaking Central
or South America: "In this gorgeous
uniform, with his bull neck, his hooked
nose flattened on the tip upon a blueblack, dyed moustache, he looked like a
disguised and sinister vaquero" (Joseph
Conrad, Nostromo, 1904).

varia lectio (vaireea lekteeo) LATIN
[different reading] noun phrase (plural
variae lectiones, vaireei lekteeoneez)
a variant reading (of a text).

variorum (vairee6r5m, vahree6r5m)
LATIN [of various persons, abbreviated from editio cum notis variorum edition with notes of various persons]
noun an edition of a text (often the
complete works of an author) published together with notes or variant
readings. 'adjective of or relating to
such an edition: "During the whole bygone
week he had been resolving to set this afternoon apart for a special purpose, the
re-reading of his Greek Testament his new
one, with better type than his old copy,
following Griesbach's text as amended by
numerous correctors, and with variorum
readings in the margin" (Thomas Hardy,
Jude the Obscure, 1895).

vaudeville (vordvil, vodvil, vord5vil,
voddvil) FRENCH [light comedy song,
ultimately from vau-de-Vire valley of
Vire (an area in NW France formerly
well known for such music)] noun a
theatrical entertainment comprising a
series of varied musical, comedy, and
other acts: `Many stars of vaudeville successfully made the transition to film comedy."-adjective of or relating to such an
entertainment.

vaya con Dios (viya kon deeos) SPANISH [go with God] interjection God
go with you.

Veda (vd5, veed5) SANSKRIT [from
vedah knowledge] noun any of the
oldest scriptural texts of Hindu, written in Sanskrit and originating in
ancient India.

vedette (vedet) FRENCH [from Italian vedetta, itself from vedere to see
and probably ultimately from Spanish
velar to keep watch] noun a mounted
sentinel posted in front of a military
position, a scout; may also refer to a
light patrol boat or launch.

veld (velt, felt), veldt AFRIKAANS
[from Dutch veld field] noun open
grassland (usually referring to the
grassy plains of South Africa): "To
the left stretched a vast expanse of rich,
undulating veld or grass land, whereon
we could just make out countless herds of
game or cattle, at that distance we could
not tell which" (H. Rider Haggard, King
Solomon's Mines, 1885).

veleta (v51eet5), valeta SPANISH
[weathervane] noun a fast-paced
traditional Spanish round dance in
which couples dance alongside one
another.

veloce (vaylochay) ITALIAN [from Latin
velox quick] adverb (in music) quickly,
rapidly. -adjective quick, rapid.

velodrome (vel5drom) FRENCH [bicycle course] noun an arena or stadium
that has an oval cycle-racing track
with steeply banked sides; also the
track itself.

velour (v5loor), velours FRENCH
[velvet, ultimately from Latin villus
hair] noun a variety of heavy fabric
resembling velvet.

veloute (ValUUty) FRENCH [velvety]
noun a rich white sauce made from
a light stock thickened with a roux
of butter and flour: "Dinner was roast
chicken served with chicken veloute."

vendetta (vendeta) ITALIAN [revenge,
from Latin vindicta vengeance] noun
a blood feud, a prolonged campaign
of vengeance waged by one family,
organization, or individual against
another: "I had some talk with him
about the war times; but presently the
discourse fell upon feuds,' for in no part
of the South has the vendetta flourished
more briskly, or held out longer between
warring families, than in this particular
region." (Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, 1883).

venez-ici (v2nayz-eesee) FRENCH
[come here] adjective seductive,
alluring, tempting.

veni, vidi, vici (vaynee veedee veechee)
LATIN [I came, I saw, I conquered,
as quoted by Julius Caesar (100-44
B.C.) on his victory over Pharnaces,
king of Pontus, at Zela in 47 B.C.]
interjection I came, I saw, I conquered.

venire facias (vaniree ysheeas) f LATIN
[to cause to come] noun phrase a
judicial writ ordering a sheriff to
assemble a body of suitable people
from which a jury may be chosen.

ventouse (ventuus) FRENCH [cupping
glass] noun a device sometimes used
for delivering babies, consisting of a
vacuum suction cup which is attached
to the baby's head: "The baby's head had
not moved into the right position, so the
consultants decided to carry out a ventouse
delivery."

ventre a terre (vontr2 a Lair) FRENCH
[belly to the ground] adverb phrase
prone, flat on the ground; may also refer
to depictions of animals in flight, with
their legs horizontal to the ground.

Venus (veenas) LATIN [after Venus,
the Roman goddess of love] noun
the goddess of love; may also be used
to refer to any women who is admired
for her beauty or charm.

very causa (veer3 kowzd) LATIN [true
cause] noun phrase (plural verae causae,
veer kowzi) (in philosophy) the real
cause of something happening.

veranda (veranda), verandah HINDI
[from Portuguese varanda railing,
balustrade, ultimately from Latin vara
rod] noun an open-sided gallery or
portico attached to the outside of a
building: "Her grandparents were waiting
in the shade of the veranda."

verbatim (verltam) LATIN [word
for word, from verbum word] adverb
word for word, in the exact words, precisely: "At the heart of the bill, introduced on December 2 lastyear, is the new definition
[of terrorism] copied verbatim from the FBI."
(Guardian, May 10, 2000).

verbatim et literatim (verbaytam et
litarahtam) LATIN [word for word and
letter for letter] adverb exactly as
written. adjective exactly as written.
'abbreviated form verb. et lit.

verboten (verboten) GERMAN [forbidden] adjective forbidden, prohibited, not allowed.

verbum sapienti (verbhm sapeeentee)
LATIN [abbreviated from verbum sapienti
sat est a word to the wise is sufficient]
interjection enough said, a wise person does not need to be told everything
in order to understand. abbreviated
form verbum sap., verb. sap.

Verfremdungseffekt (verfremdhngsefekt) GERMAN [alienation effect,
coined by German playwright Bertold Brecht (1898-1956)] noun
alienation effect, distancing effect (a
theatrical theory that argues that an
audience should not be allowed to
become emotionally involved in what
they are shown, so that they may absorb
any polemic message more clearly).

verismo (vayreezmo) ITALIAN [verism] noun realism (usually relating
to realism or naturalism in the arts,
particularly in Italian opera of the late
19th/early 20th centuries.

verite (ver514) FRENCH [truth,
abbreviated from cinema verite] noun
filmmaking in which the highest
standards of realism are aimed for.

verkrampte (verkrpta), verkramp
AFRIKAANS [cramped, narrow] adjective politically or socially conservative, reactionary (usually relating
to South African politics). -noun a
reactionary, a political conservative.

vermicelli (vermachelee, vermaselee)
ITALIAN [plural of vermicello, diminutive of verme worm] noun (in Italian
cuisine) a variety of pasta shaped
into long fine strings: "Katusha and Mary
Pavlovna, both wearing top-boots and with
shawls tied round their heads ... vied
with one another, offering their goods,
hot meat pie, fish, vermicelli, buckwheat
porridge, liver, beef, eggs, milk" (Leo
Tolstoy, Resurrection, 1899).

Veronique (verhneek), Veronique
FRENCH [after the personal name
Veronique Veronica] noun any dish
prepared with white seedless grapes.

vets de societe (vair da soseehi y)
FRENCH [society verse] noun phrase a
type of ironic light verse usually dealing with fashionable, topical issues.

vers d'occasion (vair dokq~zhon(g))
FRENCH [verse of occasion] noun phrase
occasional verse, light verse written
to celebrate a particular event.

vets libre (vair leebra) FRENCH [free
verse] noun phrase (plural vers libres,
vair leebraz) free verse, poetry that
rejects the usual conventions of rhyme,
meter, and so on: "Many poets of the older
generation deplored the explosion in vers
libre that took place after the war."

verso (verso) LATIN [abbreviated from
verso folio the page being turned, from
vertere to turn] noun a left-hand page
in a book (or the reverse side of a coin).
abbreviated form v. See also RECTO.

versus (versus, versdz) LATIN [against,
towards] preposition against, in contrast to: "This last conflict was in essence a
final confrontation based on the old world
versus the new"-abbreviated form v., vs.

vertebra (vertebra) LATIN [from vertere
to turn] noun (plural vertebrae,
vertabree) one of the series of small
bones that form the spinal column: "In
humans the spinal column is made up of
33 vertebrae."

vertex (verteks) LATIN [whirl, crown,
summit, from vertere to turn]
noun (plural vertexes or vertices,
vertaseez) the point of a figure opposite the base; the highest point or summit
of something: "Our courses were converging
like the sides of an angle, the vertex of which
was at the edge of the fog-bank." (Jack London, The Sea-Wolf, 1904).

vertigo (vertigo) LATIN [from vertere
to turn] noun a sensation of giddi

ness or confusion (as induced by fear
of heights): "The effort was too great; he
began to sway from side to side, as from
vertigo, and before I could spring from my
chair to support him his knees gave way
and he pitched awkwardly forward and fell
upon his face." (Ambrose Bierce, Can
Such Things Be? 1893).

verve (very) FRENCH [fancy, animation] noun spirit, enthusiasm, vivacity, vitality, energy: "The band played
with verve as the evening came to a
close."

vesica piscis (vesikd piskis) LATIN
[bladder of a fish] noun phrase (plural vesicae piscis, vesikee skis) (in
medieval Christian art) a pointed
oval figure forming an aureole, which
encloses the figure of, for example,
Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary.

vestigium (vestiijeeam) LATIN [footprint, track] noun (plural vestigia,
veseea) a vestige, a trace (often
referring to a vestigial structure in
anatomy).

veto (veetO) LATIN [I forbid] noun
(plural vetoes) an official prohibition,
an interdiction, a final decision that
nullifies an earlier one (often relating
to a blockage placed upon a governmental or legislative vote or act): "That
I have some claim to the exercise of a veto
here, would not, I believe, be denied by any
reasonable person cognizant of the relations
between us..." (George Eliot, Middle march, 1871-72). -verb to impose such
a prohibition or interdiction.

vexata quaestio (veksahta kwisteeo,
veksa),ta kwisteeo) LATIN [vexed
question] noun phrase (plural vexatae quaestiones, veksahtee kwisteeoneez) a vexed question, something
under debate: "These queries, I confess,
are not easily answered: at all events,
a satisfactory reply to them might cost
more trouble than would, if properly
considered, the whole vexata quaestio
to which they have reference." (Edgar
Allan Poe, "The Rationale of Verse,"
1843).