dernier cri

noun

der·​nier cri ˌdern-ˌyā-ˈkrē 

: the newest fashion

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How Long Has French dernier cri Been in Use in English?

Paris has long been the last word in fashion, but hot designer clothes from the city's renowned runways aren’t the only stylish French exports. Words, too, sometimes come with a French label. Dernier cri, literally "last cry," is one such chic French borrowing. The word is no trendy fad, however. More than a century has passed since "dernier cri" was the latest thing on the English language scene (and cut-steel jewelry was declared the dernier cri by the Westminster Gazette of December 10, 1896), but the term (unlike cut-steel) remains as modish as ever. Other fashionable French words have walked the runways of the English language since then: "blouson" (1904); "couture" (1908); "culotte" (1911); "lamé" (a clothing fabric, 1922); and "bikini" (1947), to name a few.

Synonyms

• buzz
• chic
• craze
• enthusiasm
• fad
• fashion
• flavor
• go
• hot ticket
• last word
• latest
• mode
• rage
• sensation
• style
• ton
• trend
• vogue

Examples of dernier cri in a Sentence

when deconstructionism became the dernier cri in literary criticism

Recent Examples on the Web

But here, the couple dove in joyously and with abandon: Their kitchen could stand as Gambrel’s dernier cri. —Nancy Hass, ELLE Decor, 16 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, last cry

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

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