There is a greater word confusion for cachet vs cache, but cachet vs panache can give the earlier pair a run for their money.
Cachet is related more to how people perceive your status in life while panache is your own distinctive style. It’s a style that may be classic or flamboyant, but it is definitely an air that you project with elegance.
I like Arika Okrent’s post “10 Words With Difficult-to-Remember Meanings” over at Mental Floss, 2 February 2016, for her example: “Having high tea at Buckingham Palace can have a lot of cachet in your social circle, but the genteel way you sip your tea can have a lot of panache”.
You may want to explore the post “Cache vs Cachet vs Cash“.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Cachet | Panache |
|---|---|
| Credit to: Apple Dictionary.com; Oxford Living Dictionaries: panache | |
Coco Chanel by chariserin is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. — To be Coco Chanel, to wear Chanel, was to have cachet. |
Paon Tête Profil by skeeze is under the CC0 license, via Pixabay. — This peacock’s feathery panache tops off that gorgeous head. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun Plural: cachets |
Noun Plural: panaches |
| Prestige
State of being respected or admired Prestige Superior status Distinguishing mark, feature, stamp, or seal
[Pharmacology] A flat capsule or hollow wafer enclosing a dose of unpleasant-tasting medicine An official seal, as on a letter or document A sign or expression of approval, especially from a person who has a great deal of prestige |
Style
Flamboyant confidence of style or manner
[Historical] A tuft or plume of feathers or tassels, especially as a headdress or worn on a helmet or cap
[Zoology] A tuft, bunch, or cluster of hairs, feathers, or the like
[Astronomy] A tuft-like solar protuberance of eruption [Architecture] The triangular surface of a pendentive (supporting arches at the corners of a square) |
| Examples: | |
| It was a designer label with cachet.
Federal courts have a certain cachet which state courts lack. In our times the thick wad of credit cards is a cachet of respectability. Having a PhD still gives one a certain cachet. Raffles bestowed the cachet of his smile on my description of his motley plate. Special cachets are applied to cards sold at the stands. Once he had to prepare a sedative cachet for an obstreperous lion; fortunately he did not have to administer it. |
He entertained Palm Springs society with great panache.
The actor who would play Cyrano must have panache. Think of good Irish food, all local produce, being cooked with flair, enthusiasm and panache. Hutch addressed all of these challenges with his characteristic enthusiasm, energy, and panache. But it was done with enough panache to give one confidence that our world may be unfolding as it should. “‘I’m a big stickler for panache,’ said Robert Marbury, an elite judge and founder of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (Brooklyn Paper).” Made of a colorful lame fabric, the crown is wrapped with brown velvet and adorned at the side with brown ostrich feather panache. He wore a panache of variegated plumes. He wore a black straw cowboy hat with a big feather panache plastered on that made it look as if a sparrow had run into him in a full-power dive (Infinite Probability). |
| History of the Word: | |
| Early 17th century from the French cacher in the sense of to press based on the Latin coactare meaning constrain. | Mid-16th century, from the French, from the Italian pennacchio, which is from the late Latin pinnaculum, a diminutive of pinna meaning feather. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan…which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them…and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions by exploring the index. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, and/or the Properly Punctuated.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Stable Block – Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England, by Daderot is in the public domain or under the CC0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
