naissance

American  

[ney-suhns] / ˈneɪ səns /

noun

1. a birth, an origination, or a growth, as that of a person, an organization, an idea, or a movement.

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Usage

What is naissance? A naissance is the beginning or birth of a person or idea, as in The naissance of our company came from the founder’s desire to work from home. Naissance is usually used to describe the beginning of something that is or is expected to be very important, large, or impressive. Naissance is also sometimes used to describe the birth of a person, because naissance is also the French term for birth. Example: We are in the naissance of online trading right now, but one day it will be huge.

Etymology

Origin of naissance

1480–90; < French, Middle French, equivalent to nais- (stem of naître to be born < Vulgar Latin *nāscere, for Latin nāscī ) + -ance -ance

Example Sentences

The "of sorts" refers to the fact that we don't really have anything to bring back, or, in the Latin, "naissance."

From Time Magazine Archive

Britain's most aggressive movie producer was last week conducting a recon naissance of the North American continent.

From Time Magazine Archive

A schoolboy in Paris, Victor Hugo rhymed his chivalric epic, his tragedy, his melodrama—"les b�tises que je faisais avant ma naissance."

From A History of French Literature Short Histories of the Literatures of the World: II. by Gosse, Edmund

Elle n'y voit absolument que la naissance au ciel.

From Philip Gilbert Hamerton An Autobiography, 1834-1858, and a Memoir by His Wife, 1858-1894 by Hamerton, Philip Gilbert

He had also seen Mirabeau, who, according to his account, wore very large buttons—exagéré en tout, and was altogether a man of mauvais ton, en dépit de sa naissance!

From The Jew and Other Stories by Garnett, Constance