Dictionary of Foreign Words: Vocabulary Building

Foreign Words in English are words that have been adopted from another language. There are a lot of foreign words and phrases that are commonly used in the English language. In this book, you will study and learn various common and useful foreign words and phrases, parts of speech they belong to, and their meanings.

Foreign Words -- A

01 -- a fortiori (Latin) (adv.) -- for or with similar but greater or stronger or convincing reasons [a fortiori- literal meaning: “from (the) stronger argument”; origin: early 17th century]

02 -- a la (French) (prep.) -- in the same style or manner as sb/sth else; according to [origin: 17th century]

03 -- a la carte (French) (adj.) -- allowing selection from a list of dishes that have separate prices shown on menu in a restaurant || (adv.) -- by ordering individually or separated priced food dishes from the menu [a la carte- literal meaning: "according to the (menu) card”; origin: 19th century]

04 -- a la mode (French) (adj.) -- (a). [not before noun] according to latest fashion; fashionable | (b). [after noun] served in a particular style, as pie with ice cream || (adv.) -- (a). in a fashionable way | (b). with ice cream on top or on the side [a la mode- literal meaning: "according to the fashion”; origin: 16th century]

05 -- a posteriori (Latin) (adj.) -- analyzing or using knowledge, principle, fact or information obtained after something happened || (adv.) -- in a manner that is based on analyzing or using knowledge, principle, fact or information obtained after something happened [a posteriori- literal meaning: "from what comes after”; origin: early 17th century]

06 -- a priori (Latin) (adj.) -- analyzing or using knowledge, principle, fact or information that you already have to decide the probable effects or results of sth || (adv.) -- in a manner that is based on analyzing or using knowledge, principle, fact or information that you already have to decide the probable effects or results of sth [a priori- literal meaning: “from what comes before”; origin: late 16th century]

07 -- a tempo (Italian) (adj.) -- resuming the original or previous speed at which a piece of music should be played || (adv.) -- in a manner that is based on resuming the original or previous speed at which a piece of music should be played [a tempo- literal meaning: "in (the regular) time]”; origin: 1730--40]

08 -- ab initio (Latin) (adj.) -- starting from the beginning || (adv.) -- from the beginning; from the inception or scratch

09 -- abba (appa) (IndE) [n.] -- (especially as a form of address in Muslim families) a father

10 -- ach (ScotE) (excl.) -- used to express the fact that you are pleased, surprised, impatient, regretful, sorry, etc. [origin: 15th Century]

11 -- achcha (IndE) (excl.) -- (a). used to show that you agree with sth or allows, accepts, understands, etc. sth | (b). used to express the fact that you are surprised, pleased, regretful, etc.

12 -- ad hoc (Latin) (adj.) -- arranged or happening for a particular purpose or immediate need when required and not planned in advance [ad hoc- literal meaning: "to this”; origin: 1550--60]

13 -- ad infinitum (Latin) (adv.) -- again and again in the same way; without coming to end [ad infinitum- literal meaning: "to infinity”]

14 -- ad nauseam (Latin) (adv.) -- in a manner that involves doing or saying sth again and again and thus it becomes annoying, boring or tiresome [ad nauseam- literal meaning: "to (the point of) sickness”]

15 -- afara (WAfrE) [n.] -- (a). a tall W African hardwood tree; (b). a bridge, usually made of wood of afara (hardwood tree) [origin: 1920]

16 -- affaire (French) [n.] -- a love affair [affaire- literal meaning: "affair (of the heart)”; origin: early 19th century]