Trending: ‘tranche’

Tranche spiked in lookups on February 22, 2022, following President Biden's announcement of sanctions against Russia in response to Vladimir Putin's announced recognition of regions of Ukraine as "independent" states:

So today, I'm announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday.

Tranche is defined as "a division or portion of a pool or whole," a synonym of the words slice, section, or portion.

Tranche comes from French. In modern French, it means "slice," as in "a slice of pie."

It comes from the verb meaning "to cut," trenchier, which is also the root of the English words trench (literally "a cut in the ground") and trenchant, which is used for the figurative meanings of "cutting," like "sharp," "caustic," or "clear-cut."

President Biden's use of the word is both technical and strategic, since it indicates that further sanctions may be forthcoming following this first "slice" or "portion" of economic punishment.