- sangfroid
- n. coolness of mind; calmness; composure
Sangfroid literally means “cold blood,” sang being Old French for “blood” and froid being “cold.” It, of course, doesn’t have the sort of connotations that its English transliteration has, “cold-blooded” being synonymous with “ruthless” or “sociopathic” rather than “calm and collected.”
Importantly, it’s not pronounced “sang froyd,” but rather “sahn frwah,” which is news to me, since I’ve only seen it in print. Wouldn’t want to learn that I’d been going around barking it like a tourist.
Why am I so very sure you’ve mentioned sangfroid before? It’s like a deja vu only stronger. But you haven’t. What’s going on here? :(
Is it possible you’re remembering “soi-disant“?
Nope, it was definitely sangfroid, which means it must have featured prominently somewhere else.