Word of the day
Posted: Thu Aug 06 2020 8:13am
THURSDAY, AUGUST 06, 2020 - https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/
faux pas
[ foh pah ]
noun
a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF FAUX PAS?
Faux pas, from French and still unnaturalized in English, literally means “false step,” nowadays referring to a breach in good manners, a social blunder. French faux comes from Old French fals, faus, from Latin falsus, past participle of the verb fallere “to deceive, mislead.” The French noun pas, source of English pace, comes from the Latin noun passus “a step, stride, pace,” a derivative of the verb pandere “to spread (legs, arms, wings), spread out, open.” Faux pas entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
HOW IS FAUX PAS USED?
I sat for almost half an hour as they finished preparing, acutely aware of my social faux pas. - TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM, "THE PROBLEM WITH OBAMA'S FAITH IN WHITE AMERICA," THE ATLANTIC, DECEMBER 13, 2016
I accidentally exposed to them my entire desktop, which felt like a big faux pas despite the fact that there was nothing embarrassing on there at that moment. - JEANNIE SUK GERSEN, "FINDING REAL LIFE IN TEACHING LAW ONLINE," THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 23, 2020
faux pas
[ foh pah ]
noun
a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF FAUX PAS?
Faux pas, from French and still unnaturalized in English, literally means “false step,” nowadays referring to a breach in good manners, a social blunder. French faux comes from Old French fals, faus, from Latin falsus, past participle of the verb fallere “to deceive, mislead.” The French noun pas, source of English pace, comes from the Latin noun passus “a step, stride, pace,” a derivative of the verb pandere “to spread (legs, arms, wings), spread out, open.” Faux pas entered English in the second half of the 17th century.
HOW IS FAUX PAS USED?
I sat for almost half an hour as they finished preparing, acutely aware of my social faux pas. - TRESSIE MCMILLAN COTTOM, "THE PROBLEM WITH OBAMA'S FAITH IN WHITE AMERICA," THE ATLANTIC, DECEMBER 13, 2016
I accidentally exposed to them my entire desktop, which felt like a big faux pas despite the fact that there was nothing embarrassing on there at that moment. - JEANNIE SUK GERSEN, "FINDING REAL LIFE IN TEACHING LAW ONLINE," THE NEW YORKER, APRIL 23, 2020