Vis-à-vis comes from Latin by way of French, where it means literally "face-to-face". In English it was first used to mean a little horse-drawn carriage in which two people sat opposite each other. From there it acquired various other meanings, such as "dancing partner". Today it no longer refers to actual physical faces and bodies, but its modern meaning comes from the fact that things that are face-to-face can easily be compared or contrasted. So, for example, a greyhound is very tall vis-à-vis a Scottie, and the Red Sox have often fared badly vis-à-vis the Yankees.
First Known Use: 1755
in the meaning defined at sense 3
See Words from the same yearcirca 1757
1760
See words that rhyme with vis-à-vis Spanish Central: Translation of vis-à-vis
What made you want to look up vis-à-vis? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Difficult Spelling Words Quiz
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Can you spell these 15 tricky spelling words?
Take the quiz
Do you know these words that come from names?
Take the quiz
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
Take the quiz
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
