Rendez

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. A meeting arranged in advance, often in a concealed or significant location
2. an appointment or gathering usually involving two or more individuals
3. to come together at a predetermined time and place for conversation or discussion

Etymology: "Rendez" is the second-person plural imperative of the French verb "rendre" in its reflexive sense "se rendre," meaning to go or present oneself somewhere. The full phrase "rendez-vous" was therefore originally a command, roughly "present yourselves here," addressed to a group being told where to assemble. The earliest sense in French and English was military: a designated point where troops or units were ordered to gather. The social meaning of an arranged meeting grew out of that idea of an appointed place, and the appointment itself came to be what the word named. English took the noun and later used it as a verb, so "to rendezvous" is a secondary formation from the noun. The hyphen was dropped along the way, and the spelling and pronunciation stayed close to the French.

Synonyms: meet, gather, assemble, convene, rendezvous

Antonyms: part, disperse, scatter