degage or dégagé (day-gah-ZHAY) - adj., free and relaxed in manner; showing a lack of emotional involvement.
Also a technical term in ballet ("a movement in which weight is shifted from one foot to the other in preparation for the execution of a step") but I'm ignoring that. As you might expect, this was borrowed from French, in the late 17th century, from the past participle of dégager, to release, set free, from Old French desg(u)agier, making it related to the archaic meaning of gage as a pledge -- such as the glove thrown down during a challenge.
---L.
Also a technical term in ballet ("a movement in which weight is shifted from one foot to the other in preparation for the execution of a step") but I'm ignoring that. As you might expect, this was borrowed from French, in the late 17th century, from the past participle of dégager, to release, set free, from Old French desg(u)agier, making it related to the archaic meaning of gage as a pledge -- such as the glove thrown down during a challenge.
---L.
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Date: 2010-11-01 03:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-01 05:51 pm (UTC)---L.