Word of the Day
: July 9, 2019flair
playWhat It Means
1 : a skill or instinctive ability to appreciate or make good use of something : talent; also : inclination, tendency
2 : a uniquely attractive quality : style
flair in Context
"Chef Rohan is proficient in handling specialty restaurants and has a flair for culinary art trends." — Business World, 1 Apr. 2019
"It's rare for a pop artist's signature single to encapsulate all of their respective strengths, but 'Bad Romance' manages to do so for Gaga, capturing her grandiose aesthetic, daring songwriting, lyrical flourishes and dramatic vocal flair." — Jason Lipshutz, Billboard.com, 28 Mar. 2019
Did You Know?
In the 14th century, if someone told you that you had flair (or flayre as it was then commonly spelled), you might very well take offense. This is because in Middle English flayre meant "an odor." The word is derived from the Old French verb flairier ("to give off an odor"), which came, in turn, from Late Latin flagrare, itself an alteration of fragrare. (The English words fragrant and fragrance also derive from fragrare.) The "odor" sense of flair fell out of use, but in the 19th century, English speakers once again borrowed flair from the French—this time (influenced by the Modern French use of the word for the sense of smell) to indicate a discriminating sense or instinctive discernment.
