qui vive

[ kee veev ]

  1. who goes there? (used as a sentry's challenge)

Idioms about qui vive

  1. on the qui vive, on the alert; watchful: Special guards were on the qui vive for trespassers.

Origin of qui vive

1
1720–30; <French: literally, (long) live who? (i.e., on whose side are you?)

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British Dictionary definitions for qui vive

qui vive

/ (ˌkiː ˈviːv) /


noun
  1. on the qui vive on the alert; attentive

Origin of qui vive

1
C18: from French, literally: long live who?, sentry's challenge (equivalent to "To whose party do you belong?" or "Whose side do you support?")

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012