The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) by Martin H. Manser

important question to him, in his distress of mind,
mistaking pockets and taking out his bandanna instead of his white handkerchief
to wipe his forehead" (Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Elsie Venner, 1861).

    bandolier (bandaleer), bandoleer
FRENCH [from Old Spanish bando band,
sash] noun a leather belt worn over
the shoulder and across the breast,
usually in order to carry cartridges for
a gun: "One, having taken off his shako,
carefully loosened the gathers of its lining
and drew them tight again; another, rubbing
some dry clay between his palms, polished
his bayonet; another fingered the strap and
pulled the buckle of his bandolier, while
another smoothed and refolded his leg bands
and put his boots on again" (Leo Tolstoy,
War and Peace, 1863-69).
    banquette (banket) FRENCH [from
Italian banchetta, itself from banca bench]
noun a long upholstered bench; can
also refer to a raised step running along
the inside of a parapet or trench or to
a sidewalk: "The four sides of the stockade
had been manned by that time. Lingard,
ascending the banquette, looked out and
saw the lagoon shrouded in white, without
as much as a shadow on it, and so still that
not even the sound of water lapping the shore
reached his ears" (Joseph Conrad, The
Rescue, 1920).
    banshee (banshee), banshie IRISH
[bean sidhe fairy woman] noun in Irish
and Scottish folklore, a supernatural
spirit that utters unearthly wails as a
warning of approaching death in the
family: "They were a species of tutelary
sprite, or Banshee; although winged and
feathered dfferently from most other guardian angels" (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The
House of the Seven Gables, 1851).
    banzai (banzz) JAPANESE [from Chinese, ten thousand years] interjection
may you live ten thousand years (used
as a battle cry or as a cheer): "All
the people cheered and shouted Banzai'
to the Emperor." 'adjective reckless,
suicidal.
    barcarole (bahkarol, bahkarol), barcarolle FRENCH [from Italian barcaruolca boatman's song, from barca
barge] noun the traditional song of
Venetian gondoliers with a rhythm
suggestive of rowing. By extension any
piece of music with a similar beat.
    bar mitzvah (bah mitzva) HEBREW
[bar miswah son of the law] noun
phrase a religious ceremony at
which a Jewish boy is recognized as
having come of age with responsibility for his own religious and ethical
duties, celebrated on his 13th birthday: "A boy's bar mitzvah is one of the
most important days in his life." See also
BAT MITZVAH.
    baroque (tarok, barok) FRENCH [bartoque irregularly shaped, from Portuguese barroco irregularly shaped
pearl] noun an ornamental style in
the arts that flourished in Europe in
the 17th and 18th centuries. -adjective of or relating to such a style or,
more generally, grotesque, complex,
or exaggerated: "Other pictures were two
watercolors in baroque frames; one being
the Amalfi monk on a pergola wall, while
the second was a yard-wide display of iris blossoms" (BoothTarkington, Alice Adams,
1921).

    barouche (bhroosh) GERMAN [Barutsche, from Italian baroccio, ultimately
from Latin birotus two-wheeled] noun
a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage
with two double seats facing each
other under a folding hood for the
passengers and a single seat in front
for the driver: "He gave me his arm,
and the two officers courteously bowed me
out, and we found at the door a phaeton
or barouche with a postilion and post
horses" (Charles Dickens, Bleak House,
1852-53).
    barrage (barazh) FRENCH [barren to
bar] noun a barrier placed in a watercourse to alter the flow, or alternatively a shower or discharge of words,
explosives, protests, etc.: "Strike me
dead / If the Huns ain't strafing the road
ahead / So the convoy can't get through! /
A barrage of shrap, and us alone; I four
rush-cases you hear 'em moan?" (Robert Service, Ballads of a Bohemian,
1920). 'verb to shower with words,
explosives, protests, etc.
    barre (bahr) FRENCH [from Latin
Barra] noun a