panache

Etymology

First recorded in 1553 in the sense “tuft or plume of feathers”,^[1][2][3] borrowed from Middle French pennache,^[1][4] from Italian pennacchio,^[1][2] from Late Latin pinnāculum (“small wing”),^[1][5] diminutive of Latin pinna “feather, wing”.^[6][5] The modern spelling follows French panache.^[5][4]

The figurative sense “display, swagger” is recorded from 1898, in a translation of Cyrano de Bergerac.^[3] Doublet of pinnacle.^[4]

Noun

panache

1. Flamboyant confidence of style or action; verve, flair.^[6][1][5][4]
2. An ornamental plume of feathers, especially on a helmet.^{[6][1][2][5][4]}

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. [1] [2] [3] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. [1] [2] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin