Word of the Day: September 6, 2022
panache
神气十足；潇洒气质
noun /puh-NAHSH/ [pəˈnæʃ]
What It Means
Today, when we say that someone has panache, we are saying that they have energy, spirit, and style. Originally, the word referred to an ornamental tuft or plume of feathers, and especially one affixed to a helmet.
今天，当我们说某人很气派时，我们是在说他们有活力、精神和时髦。 最初，这个词指的是一簇装饰性的羽毛，尤其是固定在头盔上的羽毛。
PANACHE in Context
“Down home and upbeat, the Bloomfield Bluegrass Band is an all-Sonoma County ensemble of veteran performers whose primary musical obsession is the traditional bluegrass repertoire played with verve, panache, polish and pluck.” — The Argus-Courier (Petaluma, California), 28 July 2022 “
低调而乐观的布卢姆菲尔德蓝草乐队是 all-Sonoma County的一个资深表演者的合奏团，他们的主要音乐是传统的蓝草音乐，以神韵、华丽、润色和pluck音色的方式演奏。”
Did You Know?
Few literary characters can match the panache of French poet and soldier Cyrano de Bergerac, from Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play of the same name. In his dying moments, Cyrano declares that the one thing left to him is his panache, and that assertion at once demonstrates the meaning of the word and draws upon its history. In both French and English, panache (which traces back to Late Latin pinnaculum, “small wing”) originally referred to a showy, feathery plume on a hat or helmet; our familiar figurative sense debuted in the first English translation of Rostand’s play, which made the literal plume a metaphor for Cyrano’s unflagging verve even in death. In a 1903 speech Rostand himself described panache: “A little frivolous perhaps, most certainly a little theatrical, panache is nothing but a grace which is so difficult to retain in the face of death, a grace which demands so much strength that, all the same, it is a grace … which I wish for all of us.”
法国诗人兼士兵西拉诺·德·贝尔热拉克(Cyrano de Bergerac)是源自埃德蒙·罗斯坦德(edmund Rostand) 1897年的同名戏剧中的人物，他的华丽气质很少有文学人物能与之匹敌。在他的临终时刻，西拉诺宣布，留给他的唯一一件事是他的华丽，从这里就立即证明了这个词的含义，以及获得了它的历史。 在法语和英语中，panache（可追溯到晚期拉丁语 pinnaculum，“small wing「小翅膀」”）最初指的是帽子上艳丽的羽毛； 比喻意义是在我们熟悉的首次翻译成英文的Rostand 的戏剧里出现的，这使得字面含义的羽毛有了隐喻的含义即 Cyrano 即使面对死亡也毫不动摇的神韵。 罗斯坦德本人在 1903 年的一次演讲中描述 panache 为：“也许有点轻浮，当然有点夸张，panache 是一种面对死亡时难以保持的优雅，一种强大力量的优雅，it is a grace……我希望我们所有人都拥有这种优雅”
Word Family Quiz
Fill in the blanks to complete a descendant of Latin pinnaculum (“small wing”) that can refer to the highest point of development or achievement: p _ nn _ _ _e.
pinnacle