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• manque
  manque

  noun

  the numbers 1 to 18 in roulette.
• manqué
  manqué

  adjective

  having failed, missed, or fallen short, especially because of circumstances or a defect of character; unsuccessful; unfulfilled or frustrated (usually used postpositively).

manque

¹ American  

[mahnk] / mɑ̃k /

noun

French.

1. the numbers 1 to 18 in roulette.

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manqué ² American  

[mahng-key, mahn-key] / mɑŋˈkeɪ, mɑ̃ˈkeɪ /

adjective

1. having failed, missed, or fallen short, especially because of circumstances or a defect of character; unsuccessful; unfulfilled or frustrated (usually used postpositively).

   a poet manqué who never produced a single book of verse.

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manqué British  

/ ˈmɒŋkeɪ, mɑ̃ke /

adjective

1. (postpositive) unfulfilled; potential; would-be

   the manager is an actor manqué

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Etymology

Origin of manque¹

Literally, “lack”

Origin of manqué²

1770–80; < French, past participle of manquer to lack, be short of < Italian mancare, derivative of manco lacking, defective < Medieval Latin, Late Latin mancus ( Latin: feeble, literally, maimed, having a useless hand, probably derivative of manus hand)

Example Sentences

And yet compelling as the theory of Mourinho as a player manqué is, and that as a result he feels the need to master them at all times, this is not a straightforward case.

From The Guardian • Oct. 27, 2017

Or, she was an architect manqué, whose construction oddities like the “staircase to nowhere” were simply the result of a lack of formal training.

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2017

The movie’s prize conceit is that the killer is a poet manqué, obsessed with the work of Baudelaire.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2016

You’ve collaborated with your daughters; you have talked about your mother as an artiste manqué.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 23, 2015

In a word, the fingers of the artiste manqué.

From The Mountebank by Locke, William John