Revanche is French for “revenge.” Its first appearance in English came in an 1858 letter from Queen Victoria, but as an ist blossomed as a word meaning “one seeking vengeance or reprisal” after World War II. Revanchist was used in scorn by Soviet propagandists to derogate West German democrats like Konrad Adenauer and NATO commanders who dreamed of unifying Germany and ending Russian domination of Eastern Europe.William Safire - Revanche Is Sweet (On Language - New York Times, 13 April 2008)
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