French words ending in e s s e

I read the word finesse and wondered how many words ended in e s s e. (Spellchecker prefers ease.) I was expecting two word dictionary type ending sites and was amused to find one for Scrabble users.
Here is another.
http://www.wordfind.com/ends-with/esse/

If English is your first language and French is your second language it seems obvious to you that a word such as princess ending with double ss is English, whilst a word ending e s s e is derived from the French, in more recent times, with the French spelling preserved.

finesse - care, expertise, aesthetics, skill
largesse - generosity, large amount of money or goods given
noblesse -being of noble class (royal, princes, etc)
noblesse oblige - because we are noble (in class) we are obliged to act this way
politesse - politeness, calculating and deliberate and diplomatic care taken to be polite

Angela Lansbury, English Teacher, Teacher of French, Researcher, Author, Speaker.

French words of the day

Here are some French words I found over the weekend, with my descriptions helping you to remember and envisualise.

brusque - short and sharp reply
cloche - glass bell shape or cap to cover food, especially delicate plants in a garden or greenhouse, items on table protected from insects guests who want to grab from the buffet before everybody has seen it, or cloche hat, a beehive shape hat
creme fraiche - literally cream fresh, meaning fresh cream
eminence grise - eminent but shadowy person, like a monk wearing a grey hooded cloak
enfant terrible - shocking adult, like a terrible infant
finesse - very fine
guillotine - French knife descending to cut off heads during the French revolution, regarded with horror in the UK, but actually invented to despatch the condemned quickly, rather than the painful process of a man with a sword hacking at their neck with a knife. (Named after inventor?)
largesse - large amount generously given
melange - mixture
son et lumière - sound and light show - visual and audio display, for example lights projecting on a castle with recorded voices of a play or music and historical scenes for a seated audience who pay to see the show late evening or twilight and after dark.

Angela Lansbury, author, travel writer, teacher and tutor of England and French, speaker.