Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Required by the current fashion or custom; socially obligatory.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Strictly required, as by etiquette, usage, rule, etc.; essential; imperative: as, full dress is de rigueur.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- According to strictness (of etiquette, rule, or the like); obligatory; strictly required.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Necessary according to
etiquette ,protocol orfashion .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective required by etiquette or usage or fashion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French : de, of + rigueur, rigor, strictness.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
French de rigueur ("required"), from de ("of") + rigueur ("rigour/rigor").
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Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
seanahan commented on the word de rigueur
I often hear this word misused. People use it to mean de jour
August 25, 2007
mercy commented on the word de rigueur
French expression that literally means "of rigor" or "of strictness", comparable to "the done thing", a standard
June 28, 2008
arby commented on the word de rigueur
That's helpful, Mercy! I could never remember 1) what it meant or 2) how to spell it.
ETA: Sorry for getting your name wrong. For some reason I keep reading it as Mary.
June 28, 2008