Glossary

Allons-y: French for “let’s go.”

Brava: Feminine expression of “bravo.”

Comédie-Française: Founded in 1680, Comédie-Française is the national theatre of France and the oldest in the world.

Comment: Pronounced “kahm-ahn,” a French word meaning, “how?” or “what?”

Constitutional Monarchy: A system of government in which the power resides between the monarch (king/queen) and the governmental system (democratic/republic). Click here for an overview of the governmental shifts that occurred during the French Revolution.  

Consummate: Extremely skilled. 

Egalitarian: A political philosophy that prioritizes social and political equality for all people.

Egalité: Part of the motto of France, “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, or “Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood.”

Fleur-de-lis: A stylized lily flower that represented that monarchy. The fleur-de-lis was on the French flag until the revolution.

Jacobins: Led by Robespierre, the Jacobins were a group of radical revolutionaries known for their violence.

Loquacious: A tendency to talk a lot. 

National Assembly: A revolutionary parliamentary group made up of the common people during the French Revolution who opposed and eventually got rid of Louis XVI.

Oui, c’est vrai: French for, “yes, it is true.”

Place de la Revolution: A public square where many executions were performed during the Reign of Terror. 

Plutarch, Parallel Lives: A series of biographies of famous men that was intended to encourage respect between Greeks and Romans and model a high standard of behavior. 

Reign of Terror: A period of time during the French Revolution when over 1,000 people were persecuted for being enemies of the revolution. 

The Republic: The first French Republic was ruled by members of the Third Estate (the common people) between 1792 and 1804. 

Revisionism: A mode of political thinking that favors evolving the status quo as opposed to revolutionary ideals which favor throwing the system out completely. 

Sardonic: Disdainfully or skeptically humorous or mocking.

Sororité: French for “sisterhood.”

Thomas Paine’s Declaration: Written by Scottish immigrant, Thomas Paine, The Declaration of the Rights of Man (1791) proposes that revolution is permissible when a government does not value the rights of the people.

Torrid: Full of difficulty and assion. 

Touché: An acknowledgement of a valid or clever point made at one’s expense by someone else.

Tribunal: A court of justice. 

Vigilante: A group of self-appointed citizens who take justice into their own hands when the systems of justice are inadequate. 

Vive le Republic! Vive la France!: French for, “Long live the Republic! Long live France!”