cachet
pronunciation
How to pronounce cachet in British English:
UK [ˈkæʃeɪ]
How to pronounce cachet in American English:
US [kæˈʃeɪ]
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- Noun:
- an indication of approved or superior status
- a warrant formerly issued by a French king who could warrant imprisonment or death in a signed letter under his seal
- a seal on a letter
Word Origin
- cachet
- cachet: [17] Cachet was a Scottish borrowing of a French word which originally meant ‘seal affixed to a letter or document’. In the 19th century this developed into the figurative ‘personal stamp, distinguishing characteristic’, which, through its use in the context of distinguished or fashionable people or things, has come to mean ‘prestige’. The original notion contained in the word is of ‘pressing’.It comes via the medieval French verb cacher ‘press’ from Latin coactāre ‘constrain’. This was a derivative of coact-, the past participial stem of cōgere ‘drive together’ (source of English cogent), a compound verb formed from con- ‘together’ and agere ‘drive’ (source of English act and a host of other derivatives from agent to prodigal).Modern French cacher means ‘hide’, which is the source of cache ‘hoard’, borrowed by English in the 19th century.=> cache, cogent
- cachet (n.)
- 1630s, Scottish borrowing of French cachet "seal affixed to a letter or document" (16c.), from Old French dialectal cacher "to press, crowd," from Latin coactare "constrain" (see cache). Meaning evolving through "(letter under) personal stamp (of the king)" to "prestige." Compare French lettre de cachet "letter under seal of the king."
Example
- 1. Chinese brands lack cachet outside the domestic market .
- 2. Yet long-established western brands still have cachet in emerging markets .
- 3. So as not to dilute its cachet , it never offers discounts .
- 4. It raises their cachet and helps them move into tv ads , where the real money is .
- 5. Gaborik believes his town 's name gives the local effort more cachet than other destinations .