‖ tête-à-tête, adv., n., and a.
(ˈteɪtəˈteɪt, ‖ tɛtatɛt)
Also 7 tate a tate.
[F. tête à tête adv. and n., lit. ‘head to head’ (17th c. in Molière); cf. teste à teste together (in single combat), 16th c. in Godef. Compl.]
A. adv. Together without the presence of a third person; in private (of two persons); face to face.
| 1700 Congreve Way of World i. ix, Ay, tête-à-tête, but not in public. 1713 Swift Hor. Sat. ii. vi. 106 My lord and he are grown so great, Always together tête-à-tête. 1790 Scott Let. to W. Clerk 3 Sept., I dined two days ago tête à tête with Lord Buchan. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxix, The General and I were moping together tête-à-tête. |
B. n. (pl. tête-à-têtes.)
1. A private conversation or interview between two persons; also concr. a party of two.
| 1697 Vanbrugh Relapse iv. iii, I..have pretended Letters to write, to give my Friends a Tate a Tate. 1738 Gentl. Mag. VIII. 31/1 The Morning Moments, which I take to be the Mollia Tempora, so propitious to Tete a Tetes. 1768 F. Burney Early Diary 16 Nov., I had the pleasure of a delightful Tête à Tête with him. 1880 Mrs. Forrester Roy & V. I. 55 Seated together on a low couch made expressly for such a tête-à-tête. |
2. The name of some special types of sofa, settee, etc., made of such a shape as to enable two persons to converse more or less face to face.
| 1864 Webster, Tête-à-tête,..a form of sofa for two persons, so curved that they are brought face to face while sitting on different sides of the sofa. 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Tete-a-tete, two chairs with seats attached and facing in opposite directions, the arms and backs forming an S-shape. 1889 C. F. Woolson Jupiter Lights xiii. 126 The sofa of this set was of the pattern named tête-à-tête, very hard and slippery. |
C. adj. (attrib. use of the n.) Of or pertaining to a tête-à-tête; consisting of or attended by two persons; tête-à-tête set, a tea-set for two.
| 1728 Vanbrugh & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. i, A pretty cheerful tête-à-tête dinner. 1779 Johnson 26 Mar. in Boswell, You must not indulge your delicacy too much; or you will be a tête-à-tête man all your life. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxiv, I was determined not to spend the whole time in a tête-à-tête conversation. 1870 L. M. Alcott Old-Fashioned Girl viii. 163 Such a cunning teakettle and saucepan, and a tête-à-tête set. |
Hence as v. intr., to engage in private conversation (together or with another).
| 1861 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 10 June (1966) 657 The reason why she & I were tête à têteing in this way was that Mr Gaskell was gone to Liverpool. 1943 Two Masques Nov. 4/2 Maureen O'Hara, Patricia Morison and Martha O'Driscoll are the ladies with whom Garfield goes ‘tete-a-tete'ing. 1979 G. Swarthout Skeletons 48 I'll tête-à-tête with him, too. |