raison d'être

[French : raison, reason + de, of, for + être, to be.]

Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded the US forces in Vietnam, died at age 91 in the retirement home where he lived, having spent much of his time after the war involved in veterans' activities:

"In later years, Westmoreland often spoke to Vietnam veterans groups, accepting invitations to visit veterans groups in all 50 states, his son said.

'That became, in effect, his raison d'etre,' the younger Westmoreland recalled. 'He did have a point of view on Vietnam but he did not speak about that. He was not out there trying to justify anything.' "

Link: Westmoreland remained steadfast in beliefs

Posted July 20, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: reason for being

Meaning #2: the purpose that justifies a thing's existence