Language Arts Grade Six

Unit Eleven, Lesson Four: Foreign Words and Phrases


  1. week
  2. creek
  3. cheek
  4. bleed
  5. greed
  6. speed
  7. insects
  8. animals
  9. reptiles
  10. amphibians
  1. birds
  2. fish
  3. bacteria
  4. plants
  5. ferns
  6. pines
  7. flowering
  8. seedless
  9. classify
  10. category
Foreign Words and Phrases

People speaking and writing English will often interject certain foreign phrases as they speak or write. The following Latin phrase is on United States currency:


	e pluribus unum

This Latin phrase means: one out of many.

Here are a whole bunch more foreign phrases:


ad absurdum [Latin] - to the point of absurdity.
ad infinitum [Latin] - to infinity. 
ad nauseam [Latin] - to a sickening degree.
aficionado [Spanish] - an enthusiastic fan.
a priori - [Latin] - based on theory rather than observation. 
au courant [Latin] - up-to-date. 
bona fide [Latin] - in good faith; genuine. 
carpe diem [Latin] - seize the day. 
carte blanche [French] - unrestricted power. 
caveat emptor [Latin] - let the buyer beware. 
de rigueur [Latin] - strictly required.
dolce vita [Italian] - sweet life.
e pluribus unum [Latin] - one out of many.
ex post facto [Latin] -  retroactively. 
faux pas [French] - a social blunder. 
glasnost [Russian] - open and frank discussion.
in loco parentis [Latin] - in the place of a parent. 
in situ [Latin] - situated in the original or natural position. 
ipso facto [Latin] - by the fact itself. 
mano a mano [Spanish] - directly or face-to-face.
modus operandi [Latin] - a method of operating. 
non sequitur [Latin] - it does not follow.
persona non grata [Latin] - unacceptable or unwelcome person.
pro bono [Latin] - done or donated without charge orfree.
quid pro quo [Latin] - something for something; an equal exchange.
semper fidelis [Latin] - always faithful.
terra incognita [Latin] - unknown territory. 
verboten [German] - forbidden.

Notice that most of the phrases on this list are Latin. It is reasonable to conclude that Latin was a very important language at one time and that it lives on within other languages.

Before continuing to the next page, make sure that you can remember all the phrases that come from French, German, and Spanish. (But you will need to recall some of the Latin phrases in the last activity.)


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