German and French words of the day: leitmotif; idée fixe

Please forgive my fixation with French of German words. Read England's Sunday Times and you will come across many words you half know.

Leitmotif - this is what Wikipedia has to say:
A leitmotif or leitmotiv /ˌlaɪtmoʊˈtiːf/ is a "short, constantly recurring musical phrase"^[1] associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of idée fixe or motto-theme.^[2] The spelling leitmotif is an anglicization of the German Leitmotiv, literally meaning "leading motif", or perhaps more accurately, "guiding motif". A musical motif has been defined as a "short musical idea ... melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic, or all three",^[3] a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes ...
So now we have two words in French

idée fixe - idea fixed or fixed idea, fixation, obsessive repetition of an idea or symbol

French words
couturier - clothes designer (high class)
decor - as in decoration - what is deigned and added to the walls by the interior designer, the furnishings the style
grandeur - the quality of being grand
nuance - subtle suggestion, hint of another meaning
over - work, as in hors d'oevre - in English nowadays we would call it the starter, literally outside of (the) work; another word using o e v r e is manoeuvre  a movement or manipulation, hand work (la main the hand)
panache - style, clout, swagger, ultimately from the Latin word pinna meaning feather, as in pinnacle 

Latin
fratricide - killing a brother - from frater, brother, as in fraternity, or brotherhood
homicide - killing a man
insecticide - product which kills insects
matricide - killing a mother, from mater for mother, as in maternity
patricide - killing a father, from pater, as in paternity
pesticide - product which kills pests on plants
regicide - killing a king - from rex and regis king, as in Elizabeth Rex, queen Elizabeth,
suicide - killing oneself 

Some more long words
banality - ordinariness
litany - list

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

French words of the day - my favourites, and typing accents

Ah, zee French accent, not the one used for spoken words, but the one you type to indicate pronunciation. At last I've grasped how to type accents on a laptop. You hold down the letter e and up pops a series of letters e with different accents on top.

Most words have the rising sign, which means you tap the letter 2 at the same time as indicating letter e. In the word c e l e b r e (spell checker wants to change this to celebrate) you start with an e and number two, followed by the e and number one.

I was hoping to find a word which had the accents the other way to make it easier for me and you to remember which is one and which is two without having to squint at the numbers before tapping on the correct one. I may have to choose two separate words.

amour - love
amour propre - love of oneself
cause célèbre
coup de founder - clap of thunder (metaphor meaning stunning blow)
echelon - scale or height, from French échelle, ladder
exposé - revealing of secret story (French noun related to English adjective exposed)
memoir - memory - not a full biography but memory of a particular period, place or profession
nuance - slight variation with implication
panache - flair
poignant - sad, emotional, arousing pity, sharply pointed, making you tearful, possibly ironic, touching
riposte - retort or reply
tour de force - strongest point
unique - one-ness (like the English words unity, unison) (the French phrase filled unique
 means only daughter
When written in English, the French accent on the word is essential, because the English word expose, which is a verb, is pronounced differently.

Angela Lansbury
Author, speaker.

French words of the day: al dente, dalliance, nuance

al dente - to the teeth i.e. almost raw, lightly cooked or crunchy
dalliance - hm ... more than a friendship, loitering with intent - as the old English song said, "don't dilly dally on the way!"
nuance - variation, subtlety

The vegetables were cooked al dente, in a hurry, because the chef was planning a dalliance, if you get my nuance.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons
Speaker, teacher, tutor, author