comme il faut
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from French comme il faut (literally “as is necessary, as must be”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌkʌmilˈfoʊ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌkʌmiːlˈfəʊ/
Adjective[edit]
comme il faut (comparative more comme il faut, superlative most comme il faut)
- Proper; in keeping with etiquette or social standards.
- 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 296:
- "Georgiana, put on your blue muslin, and ask Fanchette to make your hair a little comme-il-faut; and pray try to look well and cheerful; you were not up late, and ought to appear the better for it."
- 2007: Talking during performances is perfectly comme il faut in Wharton – why else go to a show if not to talk to one’s friends? – so while Miss Shaw, up to her bosom in dirt, went on about existence, I asked my female companion for advice. — Deborah Friedell, ‘Short Cuts’, London Review of Books 29:5
Translations[edit]
proper; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
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French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Literally, “as it behoves, as it must be”.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adverb[edit]
Adjective[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
- Sometimes carries a negative connotation of blandness and overconventionality.
- Not to be confused with comme il se doit.
Conjugation[edit]
See falloir. Only conjugated in the third person singular.
Descendants[edit]
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English multiword terms
- English terms with quotations
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French adverbs
- French multiword terms
- French terms with collocations