CDS English · Vocabulary
Borrowed words and look-alike word families
French and Latin phrases used in English, and match lists built on words that share an opening or a root. Learn the phrases; read past the opening letters; let the root carry the meaning.
Why this matters
Borrowed French and Latin phrases come up in match lists, often with a theme such as law or diplomacy. The newest match lists put four words with the same start side by side (fortuitous, formidable, forlorn) or four words from one root (polyglot, polymath). The shared letters are there to confuse you; the rest of each word tells them apart.
Concept 1 of 3: Borrowed words and phrases (French and Latin)
English has kept many words and phrases from French and Latin unchanged. French gave words of food, fashion, building and diplomacy (aperitif, beret, façade, attaché). Latin gave words of law and logic (alibi, locus standi, non sequitur). Their spelling often looks foreign, which makes them easy to spot and to learn as a list.
Definition
How to learn them:
- Group them by field: diplomacy, food and dress, buildings, law, logic.
- Learn the literal meaning where it helps: cul-de-sac = bottom of the bag (a dead end); faux pas = false step (a social mistake); sui generis = of its own kind (unique).
- Greek-built words for kinds of rule end in -archy or -cracy: the first part names who rules (ochlos = mob, hoplites = soldiers).
| Word | Meaning | Origin | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attaché | A member of an embassy's staff with a special duty | French | 2024 (I) |
| Aperitif | A drink taken just before a meal | French | 2024 (I) |
| Avant-garde | New and experimental, ahead of its time | French: the vanguard | 2024 (I) |
| Alibi | Proof of being elsewhere when a crime took place | Latin: elsewhere | 2024 (I) |
| Sui generis | Unique, nothing else like it | Latin: of its own kind | 2024 (I) |
| Facta non verba | Deeds, not words | Latin | 2024 (I) |
| Mutatis mutandis | With the necessary changes made; the rest stays the same | Latin | 2024 (I) |
| Non sequitur | A conclusion that does not follow from what was said | Latin: it does not follow | 2024 (I) |
| Connoisseur | An expert judge in matters of taste (food, wine, art) | French: one who knows | 2024 (I) |
| Cul-de-sac | A street closed at one end | French: bottom of the bag | 2024 (I) |
| Dossier | A collection of documents about a person or a matter | French | 2024 (I) |
| Debris | Scattered remains of something broken | French | 2024 (I) |
| Déjà vu | The feeling of having lived the present moment before | French: already seen | 2024 (I) |
| Faux pas | A tactless remark or an embarrassing social mistake | French: false step | 2024 (I), 2025 (II) |
| En route | On the way, during a journey | French | 2024 (I) |
| Laissez-faire | A policy of minimal government interference | French: let do | 2024 (I) |
| Façade | The principal front of a building | French | 2024 (I) |
| Liaison | A link or contact between two groups; a person who keeps that link | French | 2024 (I) In the 2024 (I) list it was matched with 'diplomatic support staff', the role of a liaison officer between two offices. |
| Maisonette | A set of rooms with its own separate entrance in a larger building | French: little house | 2024 (I) |
| Beret | A round, flattish soft cap | French | 2024 (I) |
| Ex gratia | Done as a favour, without legal obligation (an ex gratia payment) | Latin: out of grace | 2025 (I) |
| Suo motu (often written suo moto) | On its own motion, without being asked (a court acting suo motu) | Latin | 2025 (I) |
| Arraignment | Stating the charges against an accused in court | Old French, through legal English | 2025 (I) |
| Locus standi | The right to bring an action before a court | Latin: place to stand | 2025 (I) |
| Fait accompli | Something already decided, which others cannot deny or undo | French: accomplished fact | 2025 (I) |
| Hedonism | The pursuit of pleasure as the main aim of life | Greek: hedone = pleasure | 2025 (I) |
| Hoplarchy | Government by the military | Greek: hoplites (soldiers) + -archy (rule) | 2025 (I) |
| Ochlocracy | Government by the mob | Greek: ochlos (mob) + -cracy (rule) | 2025 (I) |
The 2024 (I) paper set its borrowed words as a run of match lists; the 2025 (I) lists leaned to law and kinds of rule.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2024 · CDS (I) 2024 — English · Q103Moderate
Example 1 · Vocabulary · Word Meaning: Borrowed Words and Word Families
Directions: match List I with List II and pick the code
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Connoisseur | 1. Scattered remains |
| B. Cul-de-sac | 2. Collection of documents about someone or something |
| C. Dossier | 3. Street with a closed end |
| D. Debris | 4. Expert in matters of taste |
Attaché and liaison sit close
An attaché is a member of an embassy's staff. A liaison is a link between two groups, or the person who keeps it. If a set uses both, match the one you are surer of first and let the code decide the other.
Suo motu is not 'on request'
Suo motu means a court acts on its own, without anyone filing a case. Locus standi is the opposite idea: whether a person has the right to bring a case at all.
Déjà vu is not a memory
Déjà vu is the strange feeling that the present has happened before, not a real memory of a past event. The option 'feeling of having experienced the present' is the one to look for.
Concept 2 of 3: Same opening letters, different roots: read past the start
In these lists all four words start the same way: Fort-, Pr-, Inc-, Disc-, Em-, De-. The shared prefix, or just shared letters, makes them feel related, but they come from different roots. Cover the first few letters with your thumb and read what is left. That part decides the meaning.
Definition
The method:
- Cover the shared opening and read the rest of each word.
- Link that rest to a word you know: fortuit- to fortune (chance), -cendi- to candle and fire, -cauti- to caution.
- Fix the two words you are surest of and strike codes, as in any match list.
- Expect one pair that differs by a single letter (discreet / discrete). Those you must simply know.
Sets tested this way:
- 2026 (I): fortuitous (by chance), fortitudinous (very brave), formidable (daunting), forlorn (sad and alone).
- 2026 (I): pragmatist (practical person), promethean (daringly original), promontory (headland jutting into the sea), prolix (using too many words).
- 2026 (I): incensed (enraged), incendiary (designed to cause fires), incautious (careless of risk), incandescent (giving out light when heated).
- 2026 (II): discreet (tactful), discrete (separate), desecrate (defile), decrepit (decaying).
- 2026 (II): inflation (expansion), indentation (a notch, a depression), infiltration (permeation), inflection (change in a word's form).
- 2026 (II): tabernacle (place of worship), tenuous (flimsy), tempestuous (stormy), tendentious (biased).
- 2026 (II): emanated (originated), emancipated (liberated), empathised (felt for), emaciated (starved, very thin).
- 2025 (II): feat (a brave achievement), fate (events beyond our control), fathom (a unit for the depth of water), faux pas (an embarrassing mistake).
- 2025 (II): Semitic (a language family that includes Hebrew), seminary (training college for priests), send-off (a farewell), semblance (outward likeness).
- 2025 (II): extirpate (destroy completely), extol (praise highly), extremity (farthest point), expunge (remove completely).
- 2025 (II): devious (skilled in underhand tricks), devolution (transfer of power to a lower level), detriment (harm), detract (make seem less valuable).
Worked example
Match List I with List II. List I: A. Verbatim B. Verdant C. Veracious D. Vertigo. List II: 1. Green with grass 2. Dizziness 3. Truthful 4. Word for word. Codes: (a) A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2 (b) A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2 (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4 (d) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (I) 2026 — English · Q110Moderate
Example 2 · Vocabulary · Word Meaning: Borrowed Words and Word Families
Directions: In the following items, match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists.
| List I (Word/Expression/Specialised term) | List II (Meaning) |
|---|---|
| A. Incensed | 1. Designed to cause fires |
| B. Incendiary | 2. Unmindful of potential risks |
| C. Incautious | 3. Giving out light when heated |
| D. Incandescent | 4. Enraged |
Shared letters are not a shared root
Fortuitous (by chance) has nothing to do with fortitude (courage). Formidable is not related to either. Matching by the opening letters is exactly what the list is built to punish.
Discreet and discrete
Discreet = careful, tactful (a discreet enquiry). Discrete = separate, distinct (discrete parts). Memory hook: in discrete, the two e's are kept separate by the t.
Emancipated and emaciated
One extra syllable separates them. Emancipated = set free; emaciated = very thin from hunger. Say each word slowly before matching it.
Concept 3 of 3: One root, many words: let the root carry the meaning
Here all four words share one real root: poly- (many), phil- (love), sacr- (holy), -scribe (write), trans- (across). The root gives the common meaning; the rest of the word tells you which kind. So learn the root once, and learn what the other part adds.
Definition
Common parts in these lists:
- -ology = the study of; -ological = related to that study (epidemiological = related to the study of diseases).
- -ist = a person who does or studies (philatelist, philologist).
- -ism = a belief or attitude (triumphalism).
- epi- = upon or over (epitaph = written upon a tomb).
The method:
- Give the shared root its meaning once.
- Read the second part of each word and join it to the root.
- Fix two sure pairs and strike codes.
Sets tested this way:
- 2026 (I): tautological (repetitious), ontological (related to existence), epistemological (related to knowledge), epidemiological (related to diseases).
- 2026 (I): epitaph (words about a dead person), epistle (a formal letter), epithet (a word for a quality or character), epigram (a short, clever saying).
- 2026 (I): implication (meaning that is inferred), complication (a complex situation), supplication (praying humbly), application (a formal request).
- 2026 (I): ascribe (attribute to an author or owner), prescribe (lay down a rule), proscribe (officially forbid), inscribe (carve or etch).
- 2026 (II): polyglot (knows many languages), polymorphous (having many forms), polysemy (a word having many meanings), polymath (a person of wide learning).
- 2026 (II): philatelist (stamp collector), philanthropist (one who helps the needy), philologist (one who studies language), philistine (one who does not value art).
- 2026 (II): sacred (consecrated), desecration (defilement), sacrosanct (inviolable), sacrifice (an offering).
- 2026 (II): triumph (a notable success), triumphant (proud after victory), triumphal (celebrating a victory), triumphalism (smug superiority).
- 2026 (II): revel (make merry), revelry (wild merriment), reveal (disclose), reveller (a person making merry).
- 2026 (II): transmit (send a signal), transmute (change into something else), transpire (happen), transient (lasting a short time).
Worked example
Match List I with List II. List I: A. Homicide B. Genocide C. Pesticide D. Regicide. List II: 1. Killing of a king 2. A chemical that kills pests 3. Killing of a person 4. Killing of a whole people. Codes: (a) A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1 (b) A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1 (c) A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1 (d) A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2026 · CDS (II) 2026 — English · Q103Moderate
Example 3 · Vocabulary · Word Meaning: Borrowed Words and Word Families
Directions: Match List I with List II and select the answer using the code given below the Lists:
| List I (Word/Term) | List II (Meaning) |
|---|---|
| A. Polyglot | 1. Having more than one meaning |
| B. Polymorphous | 2. A person of great and varied learning |
| C. Polysemy | 3. A person knowing more than one language |
| D. Polymath | 4. Having many different forms |
Prescribe and proscribe are near opposites
Prescribe = lay down what must be done. Proscribe = officially forbid. One vowel separates a rule from a ban.
Philistine has no love in it
Most phil- words mean a lover of something, but a philistine is a person who does not value art or culture. The name comes from an ancient people, not from phil- = love.
Triumphant and triumphal
Triumphant describes a person who feels proud after winning (a triumphant team). Triumphal describes something made to celebrate a victory (a triumphal arch). Triumphalism is smug, boastful superiority.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (1)
Borrowed words and phrases (French and Latin)28 rows
| Word | Meaning | Origin | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attaché | A member of an embassy's staff with a special duty | French | 2024 (I) |
| Aperitif | A drink taken just before a meal | French | 2024 (I) |
| Avant-garde | New and experimental, ahead of its time | French: the vanguard | 2024 (I) |
| Alibi | Proof of being elsewhere when a crime took place | Latin: elsewhere | 2024 (I) |
| Sui generis | Unique, nothing else like it | Latin: of its own kind | 2024 (I) |
| Facta non verba | Deeds, not words | Latin | 2024 (I) |
| Mutatis mutandis | With the necessary changes made; the rest stays the same | Latin | 2024 (I) |
| Non sequitur | A conclusion that does not follow from what was said | Latin: it does not follow | 2024 (I) |
| Connoisseur | An expert judge in matters of taste (food, wine, art) | French: one who knows | 2024 (I) |
| Cul-de-sac | A street closed at one end | French: bottom of the bag | 2024 (I) |
| Dossier | A collection of documents about a person or a matter | French | 2024 (I) |
| Debris | Scattered remains of something broken | French | 2024 (I) |
| Déjà vu | The feeling of having lived the present moment before | French: already seen | 2024 (I) |
| Faux pas | A tactless remark or an embarrassing social mistake | French: false step | 2024 (I), 2025 (II) |
| En route | On the way, during a journey | French | 2024 (I) |
| Laissez-faire | A policy of minimal government interference | French: let do | 2024 (I) |
| Façade | The principal front of a building | French | 2024 (I) |
| Liaison | A link or contact between two groups; a person who keeps that link | French | 2024 (I) In the 2024 (I) list it was matched with 'diplomatic support staff', the role of a liaison officer between two offices. |
| Maisonette | A set of rooms with its own separate entrance in a larger building | French: little house | 2024 (I) |
| Beret | A round, flattish soft cap | French | 2024 (I) |
| Ex gratia | Done as a favour, without legal obligation (an ex gratia payment) | Latin: out of grace | 2025 (I) |
| Suo motu (often written suo moto) | On its own motion, without being asked (a court acting suo motu) | Latin | 2025 (I) |
| Arraignment | Stating the charges against an accused in court | Old French, through legal English | 2025 (I) |
| Locus standi | The right to bring an action before a court | Latin: place to stand | 2025 (I) |
| Fait accompli | Something already decided, which others cannot deny or undo | French: accomplished fact | 2025 (I) |
| Hedonism | The pursuit of pleasure as the main aim of life | Greek: hedone = pleasure | 2025 (I) |
| Hoplarchy | Government by the military | Greek: hoplites (soldiers) + -archy (rule) | 2025 (I) |
| Ochlocracy | Government by the mob | Greek: ochlos (mob) + -cracy (rule) | 2025 (I) |
The 2024 (I) paper set its borrowed words as a run of match lists; the 2025 (I) lists leaned to law and kinds of rule.
Watch out for (9)
- Attaché and liaison sit close→ Borrowed words and phrases (French and Latin)
- Suo motu is not 'on request'→ Borrowed words and phrases (French and Latin)
- Déjà vu is not a memory→ Borrowed words and phrases (French and Latin)
- Shared letters are not a shared root→ Same opening letters, different roots: read past the start
- Discreet and discrete→ Same opening letters, different roots: read past the start
- Emancipated and emaciated→ Same opening letters, different roots: read past the start
- Prescribe and proscribe are near opposites→ One root, many words: let the root carry the meaning
- Philistine has no love in it→ One root, many words: let the root carry the meaning
- Triumphant and triumphal→ One root, many words: let the root carry the meaning
Test yourself on Vocabulary
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.