This word is borrowed directly from the French verb “rechercher,” meaning “to carefully seek out.” As it’s used in English, the adjective describes rare items that also have a sense of luxuriousness or refinement. For example, a rare first-edition book could be described as “recherché,” but a grubby piece of sports memorabilia might not rate the adjective, no matter how one-of-a-kind it is. Literature buffs might also recognize the word in the original title of French novelist Marcel Proust’s most prominent work: “À la recherche du temps perdu,” sometimes referred to in French as “La Recherche.” Published in the early 20th century, the original English translation titled it “Remembrance of Things Past,” but a revised version retitled it “In Search of Lost Time.”