tête-à-tête

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

English

[edit]
American tête-à-tête, c. 1887 (2)

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from French tête-à-tête (head-to-head).

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /ˌtɛt.əˈtɛt/, /ˌteɪt.əˈteɪt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête (plural tête-à-têtes)

  1. A face-to-face meeting, or private conversation between two people, usually in an intimate setting; a head-to-head.
    Synonym: head-to-head
    • 1794, Charlotte Smith, chapter XI, in The Banished Man. [], volume II, London: [] T[homas] Cadell, Jun. and W[illiam] Davies, (successors to Mr. [Thomas] Cadell) [], →OCLC, pages 225–226:
      From the tête-à-tête with Mr. Thomas Tough, ſhe goes to her deſk again, and begins to write "With what appetite ſhe may," in the forlorn hope of procuring from her bookſeller part of the money ſhe has been compelled to promiſe to the ſaid Thomas's peremptory demands, on behalf of Mr. Humphrey Hotgooſe—[]
    • 2014 January 24, Lizzy Davies, “François Hollande affair allegations overshadow meeting with Pope Francis”, in The Guardian[1]:
      Despite their explorations of what the Vatican termed "the family", it was uncertain whether the pope and the president concerned themselves with such issues during their behind-closed-doors tête à tête.
    • 2015 January 31, Daniel Taylor, “David Silva seizes point for Manchester City as Chelsea are checked”, in The Guardian[2], London:
      Fernandinho and Fernando made Yaya Touré’s absence not feel important and Mourinho became so agitated it required a tête-à-tête with Mark Clattenburg on the touchline.
  2. (furniture) A bench or sofa that allows two people to talk face-to-face, especially one that is S-shaped.
    Synonyms: confidante, conversation bench, courting bench, kissing bench, love seat, vis-à-vis
  3. A variety of early flowering, fragrant daffodil.

Alternative forms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

Adverb

[edit]

tête-à-tête (not comparable)

  1. In private, between two people; head-to-head.
    • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair [], London: Bradbury and Evans [], published 1848, →OCLC:
      Swankey of the Body Guard himself, that dangerous youth, and the greatest buck of all the Indian army now on leave, was one day discovered by Major Dobbin tête-à-tête with Amelia, and describing the sport of pig-sticking to her with great humour and eloquence []
    • 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 10:
      In particular his tête-à-tête luncheons were described, to which, as it now turned out, practically every journalist listening had at one time or another been invited.

Further reading

[edit]

French

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête m (plural tête-à-tête or tête-à-têtes)

  1. tête-à-tête, head-to-head
[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Indonesian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French tête-à-tête.

Adjective

[edit]

tête-à-tête

  1. tête-à-tête, head-to-head
    Synonym: empat mata

Adverb

[edit]

tête-à-tête

  1. privately, in private, in secret
    Synonym: empat mata

Further reading

[edit]

Polish

[edit]
Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French tête-à-tête.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /tɛtaˈtɛt/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛt
  • Syllabification: tête-‧à-‧tête

Adverb

[edit]

tête-à-tête (not comparable)

  1. (literary) tête-à-tête (in private, between two people; head-to-head)

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête n (indeclinable)

  1. (literary) tête-à-tête (face-to-face meeting)

Further reading

[edit]

Portuguese

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from French tête-à-tête.

Pronunciation

[edit]
 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˌtɛ.t͡ʃi.aˈtɛ.t͡ʃi/
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˌtɛ.te.aˈtɛ.te/

Adverb

[edit]

tête-à-tête (not comparable)

  1. tête-à-tête (in private, between two people; head-to-head)

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête m (uncountable)

  1. tête-à-tête (face-to-face meeting)

Romanian

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from French tête-à-tête.

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête n (plural tête-à-tête-uri)

  1. tête-à-tête, head-to-head

Declension

[edit]

Swedish

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From French tête-à-tête.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

tête-à-tête c

  1. an intimate meeting or conversation between two people; tête-à-tête
  2. a variety of early flowering, fragrant daffodil

Declension

[edit]
Declension of tête-à-tête 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative tête-à-tête tête-à-têten tête-à-têter tête-à-têterna
Genitive tête-à-têtes tête-à-têtens tête-à-têters tête-à-têternas

References

[edit]