I don't know about you, but I have zero interest in sprinkling fancy French borrowings into conversation. It would be awkward.

But I'm definitely interested in understanding fancy French borrowings when I see them or hear them, and in understanding how their Latin roots connect to other English words, which I find fascinating.

Take prêt-à-porter, French for "ready to wear" or "ready to be carried," from the Latin portare, meaning "to carry."

We see portare in so many English words. Sometimes, these words relate very clearly to the idea of carrying things, like portable, import, export, deport, and transport. Other times, the sense of carrying is more subtle or figurative, as in report (to carry back [information]), important (that which carries [things] in), and sport (to carry [yourself] away [from serious stuff and into fun stuff).

Once you've made friends with portare, it's easier to understand less common related words you meet, like disport, purport, comportment, and, of course, prêt-à-porter.

Let me throw some other fancy French borrowings at you, and see if you can use your knowledge of English words to figure out their meanings.

1. Thinking of English words from the Latin caput, like capital, captain, and cape, explain what it means to be armed cap-à-pie.

2. Thinking of English words from the Latin volvere, like evolve, revolve, and convoluted, explain what it means to make a volte-face.

3. Thinking of English words from spiritus, like spirit, spiritual, and sprite; as well as English words from scala and scandere, like scale, escalator, and ascend, explain what it means to be gripped by the esprit de l'escalier.

Prêt-à-porter is French for "ready-to-wear," or more literally, "ready-to-carry."

We took it into English around 1957 as a description for designer clothes that are ready to be worn as-is, and not made to measure. That's the most common way we use prêt-à-porter.

We can also use it figuratively to mean ready-made: designed for just about anyone to use, and not tailored to some specific person.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

It can be an adjective: "these prêt-à-porter clothes."

It's also a noun, meaning "clothes that are ready to wear," or "the idea or practice of creating or selling ready-to wear clothes" as in "the popularity of prêt-à-porter."

Other forms: 

Some writers don't use the hyphens: prêt à porter.

Some don't use the special marks over the vowels: pret-a-porter.

And some don't use the italics: "prêt-à-porter."

how to use it:

When you want a rare, French word for fancy pieces of designer clothing that you can purchase right off the rack, but you don't want to make them sound cheap or cookie-cutter, you could call them prêt-à-porter.

If you do, you might want to gloss the term for your readers: define it as you use it. Here's an example of glossing from Business India: "The designers showcased their collections ranging from pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear) to diffusion (bordering between pret-a-porter and couture)."

And if you use this term, it's up to you whether you use the hyphens, the italics, and/or the special marks over the first two vowels. The term hasn't become common enough in English for a standard form to emerge.

examples:

"In the past, the fashion industry was horrified at the first catwalk presentations of designer pret-a-porter collections – not tailored = not exclusive!" 
  — Staff, CM Models, undated

"Givenchy pret-a-porter has been limping along for some time, and is considered by its executives to be the weakest part of the house." 
  — Dana Thomas, Washington Post, 16 October 1995

has this page helped you understand "prêt-à-porter"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "prêt-à-porter" without saying "off the rack" or "untailored."

try it out:

I don't think I own anything prêt-à-porter. Off-the-rack, yes; ready-to-wear, yes; but prêt-à-porter items are designer.

If I were to invest in something prêt-à-porter, maybe it'd be a winter coat: that way I could enjoy it daily for months on end. But I wouldn't. It seems insane to me to pay designer prices.

How about you? Do you own anything prêt-à-porter that you love, or would you buy a prêt-à-porter piece if you could? Why or why not?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is Slide Into The Title: Elton John Edition! 

Have you noticed how pop songs tend to use rhyme, rhythm, and semantics to guide you straight into singing the correct title, even if you’ve never heard it before? I love that, how the title clicks into place. See if you can slide into a complete title, given a snippet of lyrics.

You can check out some examples here.

Try this one today:

"Find your feet and your fortune can be told.
Release, relax, let go.
And hey now, let's recover ____ ____."

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this term:

1. Near opposites of PRÊT-À-PORTER include

A. COUTURE and BESPOKE (made to measure).
B. DAINTY and BANTAM (small but aggressive).
C. DULL and BROMIDIC (sedating or traditional).

2. In an episode of Futurama, Professor Farnsworth dismisses Leela's prêt-à-porter _____

A. jacket, calling it "an off-the-rack, lime-green affair."
B. Oompa-Loompa-like friends, saying "Tell them I hate them!"
C. idea, saying "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the angry dome."

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. A From the game: That song is "Recover Your Soul."

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.