chiaroscuro
key-ah´-roh-SKOO´-roh (Italian claro, ‘light,’ and obscuro, ‘dark’) Chiaroscuro is the technique of juxtaposing bright and dark areas in a painting to create drama, tension, and three-dimensional effects. Paintings in the […]
Foreign Origins
piste
peest Piste is the French term for a downhill ski trail, run, or slope that is marked, maintained, and supervised by resort staff. The term is used in English to […]
mano a mano
MAH´-no ah MAH´-no (Spanish for ‘hand to hand’) Mano a mano refers to direct competition or conflict, especially between two people. While the term can refer to actual physical fights, […]
intelligentsia
in-tel´-uh-JENT´-see-uh (from the Russian intelligentsiya) The term intelligentsia refers to well-educated thinkers, or intellectuals, who guide, or attempt to guide, the political, artistic, or social development of their society. President […]
dacha
DOTCH´-uh The term dacha, which originally meant ‘land grant’ in Russian, now refers to a Russian country house, especially one used as a second home during the summer. Dachas range […]
hôtel particulier
oh-tell paw-teak-oo-LYAY´ An hôtel particulier is a large French townhouse, usually freestanding, set between an entrance court and a garden. Hôtels particuliers typically have at least three stories, with steep Mansard […]
Gesamtkunstwerk
guh-ZAHMT´-koonst-vay´-ahk Gesamtkunstwerk is a German compound noun made up of gesamt (‘whole’), kunst (‘art’), and werk (‘work’). A Gesamtkunstwerk is a complete or unified work of art produced through a […]
Weltschmerz
VELT´-shmay´-ahts (German, literally ‘world pain’ or ‘world sorrow’) Weltschmerz, a fusion of the German welt (‘world’) and schmerz (‘pain’), is a state of sadness, generally brought on by comparing the […]
Wunderkind
VOON´-der-kint A Wunderkind, composed of the German wunder (‘wonder’) and kind (‘child’), is a prodigy, or person who succeeds in a difficult field at an early age. Since Wunderkind is capitalized […]
Schadenfreude
SHAH´-dun-fwoy-duh The term Schadenfreude, a combination of the German words schaden (damage) and freude (joy), means happiness obtained from the troubles and suffering of others. If your mother-in-law falls in […]