a la carte

Borrowed from French à la carte (“on the menu; according to the card”). First part from French à la (“in the style or manner of”), short for à la mode (“in fashion”), first part from French à (“to, on, in”), from Middle French , from Old French a (“to, towards, belonging to”), from Latin ad (“to, towards, up to, at”), from Proto-Italic *ad (“toward, to, on, up to, for”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“to, at”). Last part from French la (“the”), from Middle French la (“the”), from Old French la (“the”), from Latin illam (“that, those”), which is the accusative singular feminine of ille (“that, those”), from Old Latin olle (“he, that”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ol-no- or *h₂l̥-no-, from *h₂el- (“beyond, other”). Last part from French carte (“card, chart; map, menu”), from Latin charta (“paper, poem, map”), from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “(sheet of) paper, book”), possibly from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to sharpen, engrave, carve, write”).

a la carte m (definite singular a la carten, indefinite plural a la carter, definite plural a la cartene)

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