Nearby Words

penchant

[pen-chuhnt; Fr. pahn-shahn] Example Sentences Origin

pen·chant

[pen-chuhnt; Fr. pahn-shahn]
noun
a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something: a penchant for outdoor sports.

Origin:
1665–75; < French, noun use of present participle of pencher to incline, lean < Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, derivative of Latin pendēre to hang
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Penchant is a GRE word you need to know.
So is mordant. Does it mean:
biting
concise and forceful in description
Example Sentences
  • Interdisciplinary programs with an increasing penchant for making humanities more 'applicable' might favor someone like you.
  • Fortunately, American policy has a genetic penchant for activism.
  • Her penchant for low-tech solo travel hearkens to an earlier era of exploration.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
penchant (ˈpɒŋʃɒŋ)
 
n
a strong inclination or liking; bent or taste
 
[C17: from French, from pencher to incline, from Latin pendēre to be suspended]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

penchant
1672, from Fr. penchant, properly the prp. of O.Fr. pencher "to incline," from V.L. *pendicare, a frequentative formed from L. pendere "to hang" (see pendant).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

penchant

see have a penchant for.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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