The etymology of tête-à-tête relates to a person’s head or the hair on their head. Tête was a woman’s towering headdress in the 1700s in France. Tête-à-tête literally translates to “head-to-head” and refers to two people leaning toward each other to talk “head-to-head.” In English today, it means “a private conversation between two people

Question

The etymology of vis-à-vis is similar in that the literal meaning is “face-to-face” in Latin. The word entered English in the 1700s and kept the literal meaning of “face-to-face,” and it could relate to face-to-face conversation. Over time, vis-à-vis came to mean “compared with” or “in relation to.”

Compare the etymologies and current English meanings of tête-à-tête and vis-à-vis.

A. The meanings of tête-à-tête in French and vis-à-vis in Latin were similar in the past. In English today, the meanings of tête-à-tête and vis-à-vis are much different from their French and Latin meanings.

B. The meanings of tête-à-tête in French and vis-à-vis in Latin were opposite, but the English meaning of vis-à-vis is different today, making it similar to tête-à-tête.

C. The meanings of tête-à-tête in French and vis-à-vis in Latin were similar in the past, and today their literal meanings English are the same as they always were in French and Latin.

D. The meanings of tête-à-tête in French and vis-à-vis in Latin were similar, but the English meaning of tête-à-tête has not changed much from the French, while vis-à-vis has taken on a different meaning in English.

Answer 1

The best option that captures the comparison between the etymologies and current English meanings of "tête-à-tête" and "vis-à-vis" is:

D. The meanings of tête-à-tête in French and vis-à-vis in Latin were similar, but the English meaning of tête-à-tête has not changed much from the French, while vis-à-vis has taken on a different meaning in English.

This option accurately reflects that both terms had similar meanings in their original languages (French and Latin) but that "tête-à-tête" retains much of its original meaning in English, while "vis-à-vis" has evolved to include additional meanings such as "compared with."