English

A helmet with panache (1)

Noun

panache ‎(countable and uncountable, plural panaches)

1. (countable) An ornamental plume on a helmet.
   • 1896 — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard, Chapter 4

     I had taken the panache from my shako so that it might escape notice, but even with my fine overcoat I feared that sooner or later my uniform would betray me.

2. (uncountable) Flamboyant, energetic style or action; dash; verve.
   • 1894 — Kate Chopin, Bayou Folk, At the 'Cadian Ball

     One old gentleman, who was in the habit of reading a Paris newspaper and knew things, chuckled gleefully to everybody that Alcée’s conduct was altogether chic, mais chic. That he had more panache than Boulanger. Well, perhaps he had.

Synonyms

• (ornament on a helmet): hackle, plume, plumage
• (flamboyant style): dash, flamboyance, swagger, verve

Translations

French

Etymology

From Middle French pennache ‎(“plume of feathers”), from Italian pennacchio, from Latin pinnaculum. Doublet of pinacle.

Pronunciation

Noun

panache m ‎(plural panaches)

1. panache (all senses)
2. (Canada) the bulk of antlers of deer and moose

Synonyms

• (flamboyant style): flamboyance, verve, brio, bravoure

Derived terms

Anagrams

• épancha

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from French panache, itself from Italian pennacchio.

Noun

panache m ‎(invariable)

1. panache

Synonyms

• pennacchio