Sans

I've noticed the word sans used a lot lately. It's French for "without." I guess I first heard the word in Germany. There's a park and palace in Potsdam called Sans Souci, which means "without care." I didn't actually learn the word until 10th grade when studying French, and I never heard it used in an English context until college, and I've noticed its use more and more since. Strangely, the first time I noticed it used as an English word was on a math test that was to be taken "sans calculators and sans books." Since then I have seen it used in many different contexts, mostly pertaining to food and drink - sand alcohol or sans gratuity. A quick search on dictionary websites show that apparently it has been in the English dictionary since the 1100's. Maybe it went out of style and has been coming back into common usage lately?