[Vocabulary] date

[Silverobama]

Hi,

I got an example sentence from a dictionary:


She introduced her vis-a-vis to the hostess.


The definition of "vis-a-vis" of the sentence is "a date at a social affair", can you tell me what does the "date" mean here and what does the sentence mean?


Thanks a lot

 

[Tdol]

Where did the definition come from? Vis-a-vis can mean face to face, so it would be at some social occasion as the woman is the hostess, but the date part doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Silverobama]

Where did the definition come from? Vis-a-vis can mean face to face, so it would be at some social occasion as the woman is the hostess, but the date part doesn't make much sense to me.

Thanks a lot first, see here, definition 7. Is it an old-fashioned term?

 

[Barb_D]

I've never seen any of the definitions for the noun form used in my life.

I'm most familiar with the "in relation to" usage.

I really can't recommend using any of the noun forms in conversation in the US.

 

[bhaisahab]

I've never seen any of the definitions for the noun form used in my life.

I'm most familiar with the "in relation to" usage.

I really can't recommend using any of the noun forms in conversation in the US.

I agree. I wouldn't recommend their use in the UK either.

 

[apex2000]

'vis-a-vis' is wholly unnecessary here.

She introduced her to the hostess. You can only do that when both parties are together, face to face.

 

[Barb_D]

'vis-a-vis' is wholly unnecessary here.

She introduced her to the hostess. You can only do that when both parties are together, face to face.

In the definition being used, the vis-a-vis IS who was introduced and her is being used possessively. Hence my reply about using the noun forms of vis-a-vis.

 

[Silverobama]

I've never seen any of the definitions for the noun form used in my life.

I'm most familiar with the "in relation to" usage.

I really can't recommend using any of the noun forms in conversation in the US.

Thanks a lot, BD.

You mentioned you can't recommend using noun forms in conversation, do you mean the noun form probably used in literary?

 

[Barb_D]

Simply, I've never seen or heard these forms in my life. Not in speech, not in writing, not in poetry, not in literature.

 

[opa6x57]

Simply, I've never seen or heard these forms in my life. Not in speech, not in writing, not in poetry, not in literature.

I have never heard or seen these forms, either.






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Not a teacher. American/53 years old.

 

[apex2000]

In the definition being used, the vis-a-vis IS who was introduced and her is being used possessively. Hence my reply about using the noun forms of vis-a-vis.

Vis-a-vis is not a person! You cannot introduce a "face to face"; vis-a-vis is an adverb.

 

[Barb_D]

Vis-a-vis is not a person! You cannot introduce a "face to face"; vis-a-vis is an adverb.

Perhaps you could read the definitions provided in the link. If you had, you would have seen that, in fact, the definition he was asking about was the person you bring as a date to a social function.