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 Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:17 pm
hors de combat • or-duh-kohng-BAH (the "ng" is not pronounced, but the preceding vowel is nasalized) • adjective or adverb
: out of combat : disabled
Example Sentence:
With their best pitcher hors de combat with a shoulder injury, the team faced a bleak season.
Did you know?
We picked up "hors de combat" directly from French back in the mid-18th century. Benjamin Franklin put the term to use in a 1776 letter, observing that an "arrow sticking in any part of a man puts him hors du [sic] combat till it is extracted." But you don't have to use the word as literally as Franklin did. "Combat" can refer to any fight or contest, not just fighting in a war. A politician who's out of the running in a political race could be declared "hors de combat," for example. But the adjective (or adverb) need not refer only to humans or animals: if you own a car, chances are your vehicle has been hors de combat at least once.
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Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:46 pm
so "hors" must mean "out of".
my it's interesting how similar word sources end up in different places.
hors d'oeuvre
[or DERV] Small savory appetizers served before the meal, customarily with apéritifs or cocktails. They are usually one- or two-bite size and can be cold or hot. Hors d'oeuvre may be in the form of a fancy canapé or as simple as a selection of crudités. The word "hors d'oeuvre" is properly used for both the singular and plural forms. The reason is that the term translates literally as (dishes) "outside the work (meal)" and no matter how many dishes there are, there is only one "work." In today's modern parlance, however, the plural is often spoken and written as hors d'oeuvres.
http://www.answers.com/topic/hors-d-oeuvre?cat=health
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