panache

[puh-nash, -nahsh]

noun

1. a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair.

   The actor who would play Cyrano must have panache.

2. an ornamental plume of feathers, tassels, or the like, especially one worn on a helmet or cap.

3. Architecture.,  the surface of a pendentive.

panache

/ -ˈnɑːʃ, pəˈnæʃ /

noun

1. a dashing manner; style; swagger

   he rides with panache

2. a feathered plume on a helmet

Word History and Origins

Origin of panache¹

First recorded in 1545–55; variant (after French ) of pennache, from Middle French, from early Italian pennachio, from Late Latin pinnāculum, diminutive of pinna “wing”; identical in form with pinnāculum “roof gable, peak”; pinnacle

Word History and Origins

Origin of panache¹

C16: via French from Old Italian pennacchio, from Late Latin pinnāculum feather, from Latin pinna feather; compare Latin pinnāculum _pinnacle

Example Sentences

One such tale, the record’s opening title track, finds Allen narrating the inflection point in her marriage with sing-songy panache.

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Here’s hoping this long-awaited project makes it across the finish line with panache.

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So why wouldn’t we appreciate Chishiya’s honesty, his knack for cold calculation and overall panache?

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This media can’t be boring or overly wonky — it must speak in popular vernaculars with style and panache.

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He has no imagination in his criminality; no panache, no style, no originality.

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