Word of the Day

: March 4, 2008

éclat

noun ay-KLAH

What It Means

1 : ostentatious display : publicity

2 : dazzling effect : brilliance

3 a : brilliant or conspicuous success

b : praise, applause

éclat in Context

The young actor played the role with such éclat that he was nominated for several awards.

Did You Know?

"Éclat" burst onto the scene in English in the 17th century. The word derives from French, where it can mean "splinter" (the French idiom "voler en éclats" means "to fly into pieces") as well as "burst" ("un éclat de rire" means "a burst of laughter"), among other things. The "burst" sense is reflected in the earliest English sense of the word, meaning "ostentatious display or publicity." This sense found its own idiomatic usage in the phrase "to make an éclat," which at one time meant "to create a sensation." By the 1740s, "éclat" took on the additional meaning of "applause or acclamation," as in "The performer was received with great éclat."