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A.Word.A.Day--frisson

Pronunciation RealAudio

This week's theme: terms from French.

frisson (free-SON) noun

A sudden, brief moment of excitement or fear; thrill, shudder.

[From French frisson (shiver), from Old French friçon, from Late Latin friction-, from Latin frictio (friction), from Latin frigere (to be cold).]

See more usage examples of frisson in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org)

"I get to find small but interesting differences related to communication in Japan and the United States that still give me a pleasurable frisson of surprise."
Kate Elwood; Surprising Differences; The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo, Japan); Jan 24, 2005.

X-Bonus

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President (1882-1945)

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