Word of the Day: SangfroidPRONUNCIATION: [sahn-frwa]
noun:
self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain.
ETYMOLOGY: 1740–50; < French term: developed from the Latin words "sanguis" ("blood") and "frigidus" ("cold").
USAGE: The lecturer's sangfroid never faltered, even in the face of some tough questions from the audience.
SYNONYMS: aplomb, calmness, composure, coolness, equanimity
DID YOU KNOW?
If you're a lizard, "cold-blooded" means your body temperature is strongly influenced by your environment. If you're an English-speaking human, it means you are callous and unfeeling. If you're a French speaker, it means that you're calm, cool, and collected in stressful situations. By the mid-1700s, English speakers had already been using "cold-blooded" for more than a century, but they must have liked the more positive spin the French put on having "cold blood" because they borrowed the French "sang-froid" (literally, "cold blood") for someone who is imperturbable under strain. The French term, by the way, developed from the Latin words "sanguis" ("blood") and "frigidus" ("cold").
WORDS YOU MUST KNOW
Opprobrium | Bursiform | Elysian | Mithridatism | Kaffeeklatsch | Hebdomad
Wakerife | Quadrennium | Nugacity | Cogent | Conterminous
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