Parmeshwar Godrej to host a soiree for Oprah Winfrey screams the Times of India headlines. A must-read for the socially upwardly mobile people and those who aspire to be in those circles. But there is one more reason to pay attention to the headline – ‘soiree' or soirée (both spellings are acceptable in English). This word is taken directly from French and even spelt and pronounced (hear) as in French, though the meaning got distorted along the way.
In English, soiree means, “a party or reception held in the evening”.The French word soirée means evening, but not in the sense of ‘good evening’, bonsoir (hear), rather in the sense of ‘have a great evening’ (bonne soirée). It is as if soirée denotes the duration of the evening while soir denotes a point in evening. Subtle difference!
Now we understand why soiree, in English, means a party held in the evening. The party is expected to last the duration of the evening! (Unless you decide to invite both Shah Rukh and Salman (or their supporters) to the party).
Notice that soir is masculine while soirée is feminine.
The pairs jour – journée, an – année are similar in nature to soir – soirée.
Bonjour (hear) – Good morning ; bonne journée (hear) – Have a great day.
And of course, bonne année (hear) – Happy new year (the whole year, not just a moment in the year).
Hmmm… I should of thought of this post about a month ago, on the 31st of December. But I guess Oprah didn’t want to spend the New Year’s Eve in India. So, no Oprah, no soiree thrown by Parmeshwar Godrej and hence no timely post – thus goes the logic.
In English, soiree means, “a party or reception held in the evening”.The French word soirée means evening, but not in the sense of ‘good evening’, bonsoir (hear), rather in the sense of ‘have a great evening’ (bonne soirée). It is as if soirée denotes the duration of the evening while soir denotes a point in evening. Subtle difference!
Now we understand why soiree, in English, means a party held in the evening. The party is expected to last the duration of the evening! (Unless you decide to invite both Shah Rukh and Salman (or their supporters) to the party).
Notice that soir is masculine while soirée is feminine.
The pairs jour – journée, an – année are similar in nature to soir – soirée.
Bonjour (hear) – Good morning ; bonne journée (hear) – Have a great day.
And of course, bonne année (hear) – Happy new year (the whole year, not just a moment in the year).
Hmmm… I should of thought of this post about a month ago, on the 31st of December. But I guess Oprah didn’t want to spend the New Year’s Eve in India. So, no Oprah, no soiree thrown by Parmeshwar Godrej and hence no timely post – thus goes the logic.
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