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Vocabulary Mega-Challenge: French Origin

Expand your vocabulary by completing these French loan-words from the definitions given.
Enter the COMPLETE WORD. Correct spelling is required :-)
The words change each time you play. With enough plays, you'll master 250 words!
Quiz by
kiwirage
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Last updated: March 14, 2023
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First submittedOctober 2, 2021
Times taken32,319
Average score50.0%
Rating4.16
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Hint
#
Answer
Tell-all news story
6
Exposé
Dungeon with trapdoor in ceiling
9
Oubliette
Hideous; unnatural
9
Grotesque
Agitator; polemicist
11
Provocateur
Personal grooming routine
8
Toilette
Woman's triangular scarf
5
Fichu
A small, light umbrella
7
Parasol
Dramatic, artistic scene
7
Tableau
Deliberate act of disruption
8
Sabotage
Writing desk
6
Bureau
Central body of an aircraft
8
Fuselage
Expert judge of taste
11
Connoisseur
Unparalleled; matchless
6
Unique
Puppet on strings
10
Marionette
Suave; dashing
8
Debonair
Exaggerated depiction
10
Caricature
Solo card game
9
Solitaire
Indifferent; apathetic
5
Blasé
Casual indifference
11
Nonchalance
Entrance hall
9
Vestibule
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59 Comments
kiwirage
+5
Level 63
Oct 3, 2021
Thanks to all who pick up on any errors. Fixes and adjustments will be made if necessary.
phalocrocorax
+3
Level 84
Oct 3, 2021
It might be better to omit "creche" from the quiz, since there's no definition that works for both British and American English (although it is used in both).
sumguy
+3
Level 87
Oct 3, 2021
I've certainly never heard that word.
kiwirage
+2
Level 63
Oct 3, 2021
Thanks, I agree, I'll switch that one out by the time it hits the front page.
NMI
+1
Level 86
Oct 3, 2021
That’s a very nice quiz, @kiwirage. Thank you. This little word nerd would like to see a harder version! 🤓
Jerry928
+3
Level 76
Oct 3, 2021
This word nerd got 9/20 so he thinks he's already done a harder version! Great quiz kiwirage.
sumguy
+2
Level 87
Oct 3, 2021
I've heard of all of the words I got in the first attempt except for crèche and trousseau. I've never heard of anyone using a guillotine as a paper cutter, though!
prdoz
+2
Level 76
Nov 8, 2021
We use the word for a large paper cutter in Australia
cpgatbyu
+3
Level 88
Oct 3, 2021
Penchant has 8 letters, not 7.
Josiah
+1
Level 58
Oct 4, 2021
Great quiz mate!
Newroadgirl
+2
Level 69
Oct 16, 2021
Good quiz, thank you.

What does 'creche' mean in the US then?

determinedtobeatthis
+1
Level 68
Nov 8, 2021
I've only heard it used as another word for a nativity scene, such as you would set out at Christmas (small figurines representing Mary, Joseph, Jesus, etc.).
malleo
+2
Level 70
Oct 19, 2021
It's hommage not homage
Allaboutme
+1
Level 54
Sep 5, 2023
No it's not
Jango
+1
Level 63
Oct 24, 2021
Nice quiz! Just a wee point - bonbons are not always chocolate
Labeillemoyenne
+1
Level 48
Oct 24, 2021
"Née" means "born" for a "female" baby (example : Elle est née en 2001 -> She is born in 2001). But perhaps my english is not good enought to know that "previously named" means also something like that ???

And if I'm right, we don't use the word "baton" for "Orchestra conductor's stick", we say "baguette". We use baton as stick, but like a wood stick, in the forest for example, for dogs to play with. We can also translate "baguette" in "wand".

And it's palissade, not palisade

kiwirage
+4
Level 63
Oct 24, 2021
In English, women use 'née' to indicate their maiden name: Angela Merkel, née Kasner, for example. It literally means 'born' as you say, which is to imply previously named.
AiJiyao
+1
Level 66
Nov 8, 2021
"née" actually can have the same meaning in French as it has in English.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 82
Oct 25, 2023
Borrowings can 'shift' in meaning when they enter another language. They can also retain archaic definitions of a word even where they change in the other language. So even if a word doesn't mean something in Modern French, it can absolutely have that meaning in English.
Labeillemoyenne
+5
Level 48
Oct 24, 2021
Oh no!! I'm so sorry! I've just understand the quiz!! I was so wrong! The key word being " French LOAN-words"!!! I'm so sorry, I tought it was a quiz about "real" french words and their translations!! And now I understand why as a french person, I find it so difficult! great quiz and sorry again :)

so please ignore my previous coment!

Tragic
+3
Level 70
Nov 8, 2021
Baton has 5 letters not the 6 the clue suggests.
JinxedJimi
+1
Level 62
Nov 8, 2021
I missed this one too because of the length.
luxint
+1
Level 67
Nov 8, 2021
Well done Kiwi. Another great one from you. Thanks
secretsquirrel
+1
Level 78
Nov 8, 2021
Debacle is 7 not 8 letters. Very educational..
kiwirage
+2
Level 63
Nov 8, 2021
What a debacle on my part! It'll be fixed soon.
kshanti
+1
Level 59
Nov 8, 2021
gazette is a word of Italian (venetian origin)

from etymology:

gazette (n.)

"newspaper," c. 1600, from French gazette (16c.), from Italian gazzetta, Venetian dialectal gazeta "newspaper," also the name of a small copper coin, literally "little magpie," from gazza; applied to the monthly newspaper (gazeta de la novità) published in Venice by the government, either from its price or its association with the bird (typical of false chatter), or both. First used in English 1665 for the paper issued at Oxford, whither the court had fled from the plague.

kiwirage
+4
Level 63
Nov 8, 2021
Yes, and the French version is the loan word we use in English.
AnnRWait
+1
Level 66
Nov 8, 2021
Baton is listed as 6 letters. Otherwise great quiz!
BiggieSmalls
+2
Level 76
Nov 8, 2021
should be able to just finish the word...for example...Mon___ shouold have accepted "tage" for montage. Was confused why this didn't work as it works that way on almost every other finish the word answers
Tino
+2
Level 70
Nov 8, 2021
Urg.. I didn't realize I didn't know how to spell so many French words.. would have gotten at least five more if I didn't have spend time fumbling with weirdo extra 'o's, 'u's, and double consonants..
PrincessLeppard
+1
Level 61
Nov 8, 2021
This was fun! But I've never heard the word estaminet.

And I can never remember how to spell camouflage. I want to move the "u" to after the "a."

goofycritter
+1
Level 29
Nov 9, 2021
I didn't know how to spell half of these
MiracleMax
+2
Level 73
Nov 12, 2021
Curious as to the reason for requiring the full word. Tripped me up more than a few times, given that it's so out of step with Jetpunk custom.
InterAlia
+2
Level 83
Nov 12, 2021
The given definition of beige, while not exactly wrong, seems to miss the mark. Maybe add the word pale to it.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 86
Nov 16, 2021
Beau quiz Kiwi :)
DukeOfLorraine
+1
Level 67
Jan 26, 2022
Got deceived by meringue. One of its main ingredients is sugar. A lot of sugar, looking at the first recipe I can find it's almost twice as much sugar as egg white :D
ariane5
+2
Level 73
Mar 13, 2022
The word "regime" refers to any kind of government, not just those that are "oppressive". Example : La France connaît depuis la fin de la guerre un régime démocratique.
ABomb
+1
Level 85
Jun 12, 2022
Could you accept "galette" for a fancy cake? I suppose it's 7 letters rather than 6...
solveiglabest
+2
Level 72
Nov 18, 2022
espionnage* : there's two "n" in that word
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Mar 13, 2023
not in English.
JackintheBox
+2
Level 82
Mar 13, 2023
Voilá should be voilà
kiwirage
+1
Level 63
Mar 14, 2023
Fixed, thanks
SpodXVintader
+3
Level 55
Sep 3, 2023
Je suis français mais j'ai rien compris haha. Résultat : 1/20
Vivelageo
+1
Level 43
Sep 5, 2023
Pareil pas trop capté 😶
Hdny42
+1
Level 66
Sep 3, 2023
I know it’s from Latin, not French, but I really thought Sangfroid would be Sagacious. They mean similar things and are spelled in the same amount of letters.
kiwirage
+3
Level 63
Sep 3, 2023
SAGACIOUS is an adjective. Since the clue calls for a noun ("Coolness" under pressure, not "Cool" under pressure), a noun is required as an answer. So your suggested alternative should be SAGACITY, which doesn't have the same number of letters. Nor do they have similar meanings. Sagacity refers to wisdom or soundness in judgment. It might be sage to have sangfroid, but they don't mean the same thing.
Tralala74
+1
Level 65
Sep 3, 2023
I understood, but a bit late, definitions given are the ones with the English meanings, which, sometimes (often?) differ from the French ones !! Funny quiz though.
AlexThirkell
+1
Level 74
Sep 3, 2023
Never suspected the "p" in "soupçon".

Reminds me of the problematic spelling of Machu Picchu, which is easy to remember if you pronounce it correctly in quechua: "MACHU PIKCHU".

ShnevorSomeone
+1
Level 61
Sep 4, 2023
"Oppressive government" is a poor clue for "regime." That word does not only refer to that. It really just refers to any government. Additionally, it is used in physical science to refer to certain conditions a system operates in, such as "collisions in the gravity regime"

A better clue would be something like "a system or government" but that's your realm, not mine :)

grozo
+2
Level 35
Sep 4, 2023
i'm french and bilingual in english and i can assure you 50% of the french words on this quizz are never used by anybody
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Sep 4, 2023
I speak English and I have used most of these words, although it is true that some are quite obscure. This is not a French quiz, it is a quiz about English words of French origin.

Here's a version for French words.

kiwiquizzer
+2
Level 68
Sep 5, 2023
Just the bottom four I have never heard in my life.
Allaboutme
+2
Level 54
Sep 5, 2023
Thanks. Got them all. However, I assumed they were loan words into English. Depot does not mean train station in English, only American. A depot could be taken to mean where the trains are stored at night, though.
kiwirage
+2
Level 63
Sep 5, 2023
You're welcome. There is no such language as "American", and the answers are in fact just as you assumed all loan words into English. If you're talking specifically about British English versus American English, then yes, your observation about the word 'depot' is correct.
Kawada01
+1
Level 65
Sep 6, 2023
"Haughtiness", for hau... (arrogance), is of Old French origin, and is cognate with "hauteur". Maybe a specific timeframe for borrowings should be established/clarified in the caveats?
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 72
Sep 8, 2023
Awesome quiz! Actually not that much easier for native French speakers, since many of these words are used very differently in French - but that's what makes it interesting!
southpaw
+2
Level 50
Jan 14, 2024
The answer for the quiz was obvious, but "cologne" as used in the hint is a way far stretch to be from French. The liquid was made in Cologne , Germany and took that name. The earliest know form of the word is from Latin,
CurtisNewton
+2
Level 60
Sep 28, 2024
"mannequin" is actually originally Dutch, but I'll give it to French, as that is probably where English got it from. ;)
Nevson64
+1
Level 67
Jan 2, 2025
Only 15/20, which somehow beats 82% of users…. I was expecting 2 points, tops
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