repartee

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From French repartie, deverbal of repartir (to retort)

Pronunciation [edit]

  • (US) IPA: /ˌɹɛpɑɹˈteɪ/
  • (RP) IPA: /ˌɹɛpɑːˈtiː/

Noun [edit]

repartee (plural repartees)

  1. A swift, witty reply, especially one that is amusing.
  2. A conversation marked by a series of witty retorts.
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
      Yet habit—strange thing! what cannot habit accomplish?—Gayer sallies, more merry mirth, better jokes, and brighter repartees, you never heard over your mahogany...

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

Verb [edit]

repartee (third-person singular simple present repartees, present participle reparteeing, simple past and past participle reparteed)

  1. To reply with a repartee
    • 1862, Various, The Continental Monthly[1], Vol. 2 No 4:
      Aubrey speaks of him as 'incomparable at reparteeing, the bull that was bayted, his witt beinge most sparkling, when most set on and provoked.'
  2. To have a repartee (conversation marked by repartees)
    • 1913, Gouverneur Morris, The Penalty[2]:
      To see them together, friendly, reparteeing, chummy, would turn your stomach--Barbara so exquisite and high-born, and the man, his eyes full of evil fires, sitting like a great toad on the model's chair.

Anagrams [edit]