View synonyms for à la

à la

or a la

[ ah lah, ah luh; French a la ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

preposition

according to; in the manner of:
a short poem à la Ogden Nash.
Cooking.
1. prepared in the manner of, to the taste of, or by:
  chicken à la provençale.
2. prepared with the ingredient of.

à la

/ a la; ɑː lɑː; æ lə /

preposition

in the manner or style of
as prepared in (a particular place) or by or for (a particular person)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of à la¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from French: short for à la mode de “in the style of”; à “at, in, to,” from Latin ad ad- ( def ); la, feminine of le “the,” from Latin ille “that” ( alligator ( def ) )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of à la¹

C17: from French, short for à la mode de in the style of

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Idioms and Phrases

Like, in the manner of, as in He hoped to break all records, à la Babe Ruth . This expression, an abbreviation of the French à la mode de (for “in the manner of”), has been used in English since the late 1500s.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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