vive la différence

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from French, literally “long live the difference”, from vive (long live) + la (the) + différence (difference, diversity). Although correct and unremarkable French, it is not a stock phrase in French as it is in English.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌvivə lɑ ˌdɪfəˈɹɑns/
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌviːv lɑː ˌdɪfəˈɹɒns/
  • Audio (UK):(file)

Phrase

[edit]

vive la différence

  1. (often humorous) Used to express appreciation of diversity, especially between the sexes; sometimes referring to cultural diversity, and more rarely to diversity of opinion, as in "let's agree to disagree".
    • 2001 November 1, Sandra Díaz with Marcelo Cabido, “Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes”, in Trends in Ecology & Evolution[1], volume 16, number 11, pages 646–655:

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Often used as a humorous exclamation (e.g., by a man appreciating an attractive woman).
  • The term la différence is sometimes abstracted from this saying to refer to the difference between the sexes, or to heterosexual sexual interest implied to result from this.

Synonyms

[edit]