Partie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group involved together in a specific activity or affair ; a game, contest, or round of play ; a person who is considered suitable or significant as a match or companion, especially in marriage or romance
2. An assembly connected by a shared purpose or event ; an organized competition or session of play ; an individual viewed for their potential as a partner or romantic interest
3. A collective with a common pursuit or concern ; a session or instance of a game ; someone regarded as a potential or desirable partner in a social or romantic context

Etymology: The word "partie" is simply an older spelling of "party", and it carries its original meaning on its face: something divided. In Old French, "partie" meant a side, a portion, or a share, and its root goes back to Latin "pars", "a part, piece, or share". The feminine past participle "partie" came from "partir", "to divide or separate", so a party was literally "that which is divided" before it ever meant a gathering. That sense of dividing persisted in English. The word arrived in Middle English around 1300, first as a term for one side in a dispute or agreement, and it is still used that way in legal language today when people speak of the parties to a contract. The social sense of a gathering, and the sporting sense of a game or contest, grew out of the same idea of a group set apart from others. The "partner" and "match" sense of "partie" is an older extension: a suitable person paired off with you. Only the spelling has changed, from "partie" to "party" over time, which is why the older form now looks unfamiliar.