Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1690s
Tête-à-tête
from tête-à-tête
- Meaning
- Head to head — a private one-to-one meeting.
- Source word
- tête-à-tête
- Route into English
- French aristocratic register → English in the 17th c.
- Arrived
- 1690s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.