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rapprochement - 5 dictionary results

rap⋅proche⋅ment

  [rap-rohsh-mahn; Fr. ra-prawsh-mahn]
Use rapprochement in a Sentence
–noun
an establishment or reestablishment of harmonious relations: a rapprochement reached between warring factions.
Origin:
1800–10; < F, equiv. to rapproche(r) to bring near, bring together (r(e)- re- + approcher; see approach ) + -ment -ment

Synonyms:
reconciliation, understanding, accommodation.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rap·proche·ment   (rä'prôsh-mäɴ')   
n.  
  1. A reestablishing of cordial relations, as between two countries.
  2. The state of reconciliation or of cordial relations.

[French, from rapprocher, to bring together : re-, re- + approcher, to approach (from Old French aprochier; see approach).]
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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Rapprochement

Rap`proche`ment"\, n. [F., fr. rapprocher to cause to approach again. See Re-; Approach.] Act or fact of coming or being drawn near or together; establishment or state of cordial relations.

He had witnessed the gradual rapprochement between the papacy and Austria. --Wilfrid Ward.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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rapprochement [(rap-rohsh-mahnn, rah-prawsh-mahnn)]

A closer approach of two groups to each other. Rapprochement, a French term, is often applied to two nations, especially ones that become reconciled after relations between them have worsened.

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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rapprochement 
1809, from Fr. rapprochement "reunion, reconciliation," from rapprocher "bring near," from O.Fr. re- "back, again" + aprochier (see approach).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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