surprise-partie

French

Etymology

From English surprise party; sociological note: parties were social events where invitations were sent out to the invitees, be they children or teenagers. The novelty of the surprise-partie was its informal organization. When this became the norm, the word was re-analyzed to mean "a party thrown to surprise the one in whose honor it is made", and, in its original sense, shortened as surpat’, surpatte, surboum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syʁ.pʁiz.paʁ.ti/

Noun

surprise-partie f (plural surprise-parties)

1. party

   Jean avait organisé chez lui une surprise-partie. Nous devions tous nous retrouver à trois heures. Nous étions une quarantaine de garçons et de filles qui dansions gauchement, joyeusement. (Jacques Lusseyran, Et la lumière fut, 1953)

2. surprise party

   Jean va organiser une surprise-partie pour son anniversaire de mariage avec Elisabeth.

Further reading

• “surprise-partie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.