4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 6 August 2023
⏱️ 2 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2023 is:
debonair • \deb-uh-NAIR\ • adjective
Debonair describes someone who may, by definition, also be called fashionable, attractive, and confident.
// Now a professional dancer himself, Raul remembers idolizing Gene Kelly, Gregory Hines, and other debonair performers as a child.
Examples:
“By trade, Malik Afegbua is an accomplished filmmaker. He is currently working on a Netflix docudrama about Nigerian textile designer and global fashion icon Nike Davies-Okundaye. … Recently, his artificial intelligence (AI) generated Fashion Show for Elders broke the internet and garnered international press coverage with its stunning images of debonair elders owning the runway.” — Ebony Flake, Essence, 20 Jan. 2023
Did you know?
Calling someone debonair is another way of saying they’ve got a certain je ne sais quoi, or to be more specific (and complete the rhyme): savoir faire. Ooh la la! If this all sounds ultra chic to you, you’re not alone. French has a certain cachet, a fanciness and prestige owing in part to its deep etymological, historical, and political connections with English. This extends to many French words that English has borrowed outright or adapted, including debonair. In Anglo-French, someone who was genteel and thought to be well-brought-up was described as deboneire—literally “of good family or nature” (from the three-word phrase de bon aire). When the word was borrowed into English in the 13th century, it basically meant “courteous,” but today’s debonair incorporates suaveness, nonchalance, and maybe even a soupçon of esprit (carefree sophistication with a dash of wit).
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | It's Merriam Websters, Word of the Day for August 6th. |
0:11.3 | Today's word is debanare, spelled D-E-B-O-N-A-I-R. |
0:17.7 | Debanare is an adjective. |
0:20.2 | Debanare describes someone who may by definition also be called fashionable, attractive, and confident. |
0:26.0 | Here's the word used. |
0:28.0 | And a sentence from Essence by Ebony Flake. |
0:32.1 | By trade, Malik Afegboa is an accomplished filmmaker. |
0:36.8 | He is currently working on a Netflix documentary about Nigerian textile designer and global |
0:42.4 | fashion icon Nike Davies Akunday. |
0:45.6 | Recently his artificial intelligence AI-generated fashion show for Elders broke the internet |
0:51.7 | and garnered international press coverage with its stunning images of debanare Elders |
0:57.2 | owning the runway. |
0:59.5 | Calling someone debanare is another way of saying they've got a certain genus a-quah, |
1:03.9 | or to be more specific and complete the rhyme, Savoir Fair. |
1:08.2 | Ula-la, if this all sounds ultra chic to you you're not alone. |
1:12.7 | French has a certain cache, a fanciness and prestige, owing in part to its deep etymological, |
1:18.2 | historical, and political connections with English. |
1:21.7 | This extends to many French words that English has borrowed outright or adapted, including |
1:26.8 | the word debanare. |
1:28.5 | In Anglo-French, someone who was gentile and thought to be well brought up was described |
1:33.5 | as debanare, literally of good family or nature. |
1:38.5 | From the three word phrase debanare, when the word was borrowed into English in the 13th |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Merriam-Webster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Merriam-Webster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.