cachet

[ka-shey, kash-ey; French ka-she] /kæˈʃeɪ, ˈkæʃ eɪ; French kaˈʃɛ/
noun, plural cachets
[ka-sheyz, kash-eyz; French ka-she] /kæˈʃeɪz, ˈkæʃ eɪz; French kaˈʃɛ/ (Show IPA)
1.
an official seal, as on a letter or document.
2.
a distinguishing mark or feature; stamp:
Courtesy is the cachet of good breeding.
3.
a sign or expression of approval, especially from a person who has a great deal of prestige.
4.
superior status; prestige:
The job has a certain cachet.
5.
Pharmacology. a hollow wafer for enclosing an ill-tasting medicine.
6.
Philately. a firm name, slogan, or design stamped or printed on an envelope or folded letter.
Origin
1630-40; < French: literally, something compressed to a small size, equivalent to cache cache + -et -et
Can be confused
cache, cachet, cash.
Examples from the web for cachet
  • Amazon has the marketing power and cachet to provide that demo.
  • They disapprove of the vapid notion that spending more on a soft drink or ice cream can bring happiness or social cachet.
  • Luckily for high-end watchmakers, the psychosocial cachet of their products doesn't seem to be trailing off.
  • It seemed ridiculous trying to trade on a movie star's cachet.
  • Allowing anyone to buy online can mean a loss of cachet.
  • Youngsters are flocking to poker as never before, attracted by its growing cachet and the ever-expanding pots.
  • Even though they're arguably more pleasant to drive, they don't carry as much cachet.
  • Gold has the cachet of the fervent who desire fixing money to gold.
  • Music's cachet and emotional pull also make it a potent weapon for businesses that want to build their own brands.
British Dictionary definitions for cachet

cachet

/ˈkæʃeɪ/
noun
1.
an official seal on a document, letter, etc
2.
a distinguishing mark; stamp
3.
prestige; distinction
4.
(philately)
  1. a mark stamped by hand on mail for commemorative purposes
  2. a small mark made by dealers and experts on the back of postage stamps Compare overprint (sense 3), surcharge (sense 5)
5.
a hollow wafer, formerly used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting medicine
Word Origin
C17: from Old French, from cacher to hide
Word Origin and History for cachet
n.

1630s, Scottish borrowing of French cachet "seal affixed to a letter or document" (16c.), from Old French dialectal cacher "to press, crowd," from Latin coactare "constrain" (see cache). Meaning evolving through "(letter under) personal stamp (of the king)" to "prestige." Cf. French lettre de cachet "letter under seal of the king."

cachet in Medicine

cachet ca·chet (kā-shā')
n.
An edible wafer capsule used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting drug.