penchant
noun

- a strong or habitual liking for something, or tendency to do something

- a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something

Oxford Languages, Dictionary.com

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "penchant" entered the English language in the 1670s, borrowed from French. It originates from the French word penchant, which is the present participle of the Old French verb pencher, meaning "to incline" or "to bend".

The Old French pencher can be traced back to Vulgar Latin pendicare, derived from the Latin verb pendere, meaning "to hang" or "to cause to hang".

The semantic evolution of "penchant" reflects a metaphorical shift from physical inclination or hanging to a figurative sense of mental inclination or strong liking.

Interestingly, the Latin root pendere is also the source of many other English words, including "depend", "append", "expense", and even "pendant".

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FROM FISH SAUCE TO FACEBOOK
How Human Tastes Shape History

The Ancient Romans' penchant for garum—a pungent, fermented fish sauce—shaped maritime trade routes, established entire industries, and left archaeological traces from Scotland to North Africa. This seemingly simple culinary preference illustrates how human inclinations can reshape societies and economies.

Throughout history, collective penchants have acted as powerful drivers of cultural evolution. The Chinese preference for silk created the "Silk Road, the world's first global trade network, while the European taste for spices funded the Age of Exploration. The Renaissance flourished partly due to wealthy patrons' penchant for art and classical learning, fundamentally changing how humans viewed themselves and their world.

Our preferences often result in technological advances. The Victorian penchant for natural history spurred developments in microscopy and animal classification. The 20th-century American preference for personal automobiles revolutionized not just transportation, but urban design, social mobility, and even dating behaviour.

As we face global challenges like climate change and technological disruption, it’s crucial to understand how AI algorithms are actively shaping our preferences, creating feedback loops that change markets overnight.

Our penchants today are already shaping the world our descendants will inherit tomorrow.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

a thing (weakness) for,  a yearning (yen) for, affection, affinity, appetite (for), ardour, attachment, attraction (to), bag, bent, bias, craving, craze, desire, disposition, drawn to, eagerness, fancy, fascination, fetish, fixation, fondness, habitual preference, hankering, have a soft spot for (a sweet tooth for, a taste for, a weakness for), hots for, inclination, infatuation, itch, keenness, leaning, liking, one's thing, partiality, passion, PENCHANT, predilection, predisposition, preference, proclivity, soft spot (for), sweet spot, urge, what makes one tick

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“I never realized just how deeply AI algorithms are shaping our interpretation of the world, our private PENCHANTS, needs, and wishes.”

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