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au pied de la lettre. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
au pied de la lettre, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
au pied de la lettre in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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au pied de la lettre, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
French
Etymology
Literally, “on the foot of the letter”. Compare Spanish al pie de la letra, Catalan al peu de la lletra or Portuguese ao pé da letra.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /o pje d(ə) la lɛtʁ/
Adverb
au pied de la lettre
- to the letter, literally
- Synonyms: à la lettre, mot à mot
- prendre au pied de la lettre ― to take literally
2020, Alexis Chabot, Manuel de culture générale – Cours & méthode, page 36:Cependant, un tel critère reste difficile à prendre au pied de la lettre : n’est-il pas très exceptionnel que le Peuple gouverne? En existe-t-il de véritables exemples? Il importe donc d’étendre cette notion pour intégrer le concept de représentation : faute de quoi on pourrait facilement conclure, à l’instar de [Rousseau] dans son essai Du contrat social qu’«aucune démocratie n’existe ni n’existera jamais en ce monde».- However, such a criterion remains difficult to take literally: is it not very rare for the People to govern? Are there any real examples of this? It is therefore important to broaden this notion to include the concept of representation, without which one might easily conclude, following the example of in his essay The Social Contract, that "no democracy exists, nor will one ever exist, in this world".