Oh la la!

Did you know the meaning of these common expressions in French?

Image: Michael McKay

At this point, it is not a secret that a part of the English vocabulary is actually French wearing a trenchcoat. Many of the words and phrases that we use on a daily basis are very similar in use and meaning to their French counterparts; take, for example, words like energy, silhouette, poetic, or machine. However, not all words and phrases of French origin have maintained their meaning or spelling. Let’s have a look at some of them!

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Let’s start with an example where only the form of the phrase has changed: English speakers use ‘in lieu of’ to talk about something done or said in the place of something else. This phrase is partially translated from the original French, au lieu de, which is used in the same way and with the same meaning.

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If we visit somewhere new, chances are we will bring back a souvenir to remind us of our trip. And that is exactly the meaning of souvenir in French, ‘to remember’, although the word can also be used for a "memento" or "keepsake."

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This phrase could be translated as ‘with a double hearing,’ giving the idea of a thing that can be interpreted in two (usually very different) ways. Modern French uses ‘_à double sens_’ to convey this meaning, instead of the verb entendre (‘to hear’).

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English shares with French the use of this phrase to mean ‘fashionable’. However, it is also used as a culinary term, but with two very different meanings: in English, desserts à la mode are accompanied by ice cream, while in French, the same term might indicate that it was cooked with carrots and onions.

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For English speakers, this word unequivocally means a professional cook. For French speakers, however, a chef would be a cuisinier, and chef would be used to mean ‘chief’, ‘boss’, or ‘head of.’

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The word "premiere" is associated in English with the first performance or screening of a play or film. In French, première simply means ‘first,’ though la première can be used for a first performance.

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Encore means again, so it makes sense that people use this word to request a repeat performance. However, French speakers prefer saying une autre or bis for the same situation.

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Used to refer to a mix or medley of things, this word comes from the French pot-pourri, meaning ‘rotten pot,’ as it was originally used for a pot where flowers were dried for their scent.

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In English, this word is used for a fancy and delicate nightgown, robe, or dressing gown. In French, négligée would be used for a woman who neglects her appearance, and the clothing item would be called négligé (the masculine form of the word) or nuisette.

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Meaning ‘seating,’ this word is used by English speakers for an attempt to communicate with the dead, usually with the help of a medium. French speakers use this word to refer to a meeting or a season of any kind.

Oops! Let’s keep it that way

These 10 common words were all accidents—literally

Image: Lucian Alexe

Some words we use daily weren’t born from deliberate invention—they were flukes and accidents. All kinds of typos, mishearings, and bungled translations gave rise to many terms that stuck until today. Find out which 10 words exist only because someone made a mistake—and didn’t fix it.

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In 1791, Richard Daly made a bet that he could create a word in 48 hours. He spread "quiz" through graffiti across town, and soon everyone was talking about the mysterious word.

Initially, it meant an odd fellow or joker before evolving into its modern meaning. Not all etymologists agree with this origin story, but there aren’t many contenders either.

Image: Andrew Dawes

Nylon’s name came from an attempt to call it "No-Run" (suggesting stockings wouldn’t tear), but DuPont couldn’t trademark common words, so they tweaked the letters.

Today, it’s one of the most common synthetic fibers in the world.

Image: Hannes Johnson

The canned meat got its name from a random suggestion during a brainstorming session, possibly short for "spiced ham."

While its origins are a bit fuzzy, the name stuck. Ironically, it later became slang for unwanted email, thanks to a Monty Python skit.

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Newspapers in Boston and New York loved jokey abbreviations. "OK" was one of them, perhaps stemming from a joke misspelling of "all correct" as "oll korrect," a humorous fad in the 1830s.

The word became so popular that it entered multiple languages as a global signal of agreement or approval.

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The term "cab" for a taxi came from "cabriolet," a French word for a light horse-drawn carriage, shortened by English speakers who mispronounced it.

By the time motorized taxis arrived, "cab" was already shorthand for a vehicle-for-hire. The name stuck even though the original meaning faded.

Image: Saad Chaudhry

"Dandelion" comes from French **dent de lion**—"lion’s tooth"—but the word was altered in English over time.

As it passed from Old French to Middle English, pronunciation shifted and spelling changed.

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Ironically, "gunk" was originally a brand name for a degreasing product, but people used it generically, and the definition morphed over time.

By the mid-20th century, "gunk" meant any unpleasant mess—one of many cases of a brand losing its name to everyday language.

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"Robot" entered English via a 1920 Czech play, where the word robota meant forced labor.

The play itself was a critique of mechanization and the ways it can dehumanize people, but the word stuck as a shorthand for any kind of mechanical being.

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"Galore" came from the Gaelic expression go leor, meaning "plenty," but was misread as a single English word.

It entered English in the 17th century via Irish immigrants. Rather than translate it, writers took the phrase at face value.

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"Groom" once meant a boy or servant. Its evolution to mean "bridegroom" was a confusion of roles and job titles in Middle English.

While its roots are related to the Old English word guma (meaning "man"), over time, the term narrowed to describe a man who is getting married.