Word of the DayMonday, April 23, 2001
rapprochement
\rap-rosh-MAWN\ , noun:1.
The establishment or state of cordial relations.
Quotes:
Mikhail Gorbachev and his team of self-described reformers were publicly heralding a new era of rapprochement with the West.
-- Ken Alibek with Stephen Handelman, Biohazard
The documentary record of initial White House-level efforts to initiate rapprochement with China . . . remains slim.
-- William Burr, The Kissinger Transcripts
But I have no desire for some kissy rapprochement.
-- Zoë Heller, Everything You Know
Origin:
Rapprochement comes from the French, from rapprocher, "to bring nearer," from Middle French, from re- + approcher, "to approach," from Old French aprochier, from Late Latin appropire, from Latin ad- + propius, "nearer," comparative of prope, "near."
