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fait accompli

 - 4 dictionary results

fait ac⋅com⋅pli

  [fe ta-kawn-plee]
Use fait accompli in a Sentence
plural faits ac⋅com⋅plis  [fe za-kawn-plee] . French.
an accomplished fact; a thing already done: The enemy's defeat was a fait accompli long before the formal surrender.
Origin:
1835–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fait ac·com·pli   (fā'tä-kôɴ-plē', fět'ä-)   
n.   pl. faits ac·com·plis (fā'tä-kôɴ-plē', -plēz', fět'ä-)
An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.

[French : fait, fact + accompli, accomplished.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

fait accompli [(fayt uh-kom-plee, fet ah-kohm-plee)]

Something that has already been done: “The company president did not discuss the new hiring policy with her board of directors; instead she put it into effect and presented the board with a fait accompli.” From French, meaning “an accomplished fact.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fait accompli 
1845, from Fr., lit. "an accomplished fact."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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