Panache

I was first made aware of this word by Calvin and Hobbes. The American Heritage dictionary defines it as 1. dash; verve and 2. a bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet.

The second definition came as a surprise to me, but upon inspecting the etymological lineage of the word, it becomes evident that panache is derived through Italian and French from the Latin pinnaculum, which is a diminuative of pinna, meaning feather or wing (that would make it etymologically related to the word pen, and penne pasta).

Also, as a young child, I thought that it was pronounced as pan-a-k-e, mistaking a hard ch for a soft ch.