Je-ne-sais-quoi
[zhuh nuh se kwa] /ʒənə sɛ ˈkwa/
noun, French.
1.
an indefinable, elusive quality, especially a pleasing one:
She has a certain je ne sais quoi that charms everybody.
/ʒənsekwa/
noun
1.
an indefinable quality, esp of personality
n.
“an inexpressible something,” French, literally “I do not know what.”
[T]hey are troubled with the je-ne-scay-quoy, that faign themselves sick out of niceness but know not where their own grief lies, or what ayls them. [Thomas Blount, “Glossographia,” 1656]
je ne sais quoi [(zhuh nuh say kwah)]
That little something; a quality that eludes description: “The Mona Lisa’s smile has a certain je ne sais quoi.” From French, meaning “I don’t know what.”
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