Word of the Day - 05/31/26
de rigueur
/də_Ri'ɡyR/(adj.): required by etiquette or usage or fashion
For a formal business meeting, a suit and tie are de rigueur.
Word Origin
The phrase 'de rigueur' originates from French, meaning 'of rigor' or 'of strictness'. It is composed of two parts: 'de', a French preposition meaning 'of' or 'from', and 'rigueur', a French noun meaning 'rigor', 'strictness', or 'severity'. The French word 'rigueur' itself derives from the Latin 'rigor', meaning 'stiffness' or 'severity'. The phrase entered English to describe something that is required by custom, etiquette, or fashion.
Words with a similar origin, stemming from the Latin 'rigor' (stiffness, severity), include 'rigor' itself (as in strictness or harshness), 'rigorous' (characterized by strictness or thoroughness), and 'rigidity' (the quality of being stiff or inflexible).
As a reminder, here are all of the words from this week:
disquisition parlance jargon
de rigueur
See if you can remember all of this week's words! Here are some sentences that include all seven, followed by versions that simplify them to help you remember:
Even in the specialized parlance of paleontology, discussing a gastrolith often requires a lengthy disquisition, but to present such a topic with jejune arguments and to treat 'portmanteau' as de rigueur jargon would be a mistake.Even in the specialized way of speaking of paleontology, discussing a stomach stone often requires a lengthy detailed discussion, but to present such a topic with simplistic arguments and to treat 'combined word' as socially required technical terms would be a mistake.
His jejune disquisition on the gastrolith's role in dinosaur digestion, written in the archaic parlance of 19th-century scientific texts, unfortunately included 'portmanteau' as de rigueur jargon without proper explanation.
His simplistic detailed essay on the stomach stone's role in dinosaur digestion, written in the old-fashioned way of speaking found in 19th-century scientific texts, unfortunately included 'combined word' as socially required technical terms without proper explanation.