Saturday, April 6, 2019

CONTRETEMPS

CONTRETEMPS

(disagreement)

This obviously French word (literally 'against the time') was originally used as a fencing term in the seventeenth century, to denote an untimely thrust, one made at the wrong moment. From this, the word came to acquire its present sense of 'disagreement', basically implying that at the right time, there could have been agreement. This sense arose in the nineteenth century.



from Dunces, Gourmands & Petticoats by Adrian Room


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