English

Alternative forms

• entente-cordiale

Noun

entente cordiale ‎(plural ententes cordiales)

1. A friendly relationship, especially one between parties who might otherwise be adversaries or, at least, wary of one another.
   • 1861 Feb. 21,"The Incoming Administration: Mr. Lincoln in New-York," New York Times (retrieved 8 July 2015):

     His Reception and Speech at the City Hall. Entente Cordiale Between the Mayor and the President.

   • 1895, John Kendrick Bangs, Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica, ch. 9:

     Bonaparte's first act after providing lucrative positions for his family was to write another letter, couched in language of a most fraternal nature, to the King of England, asking for peace. "Dear Cousin George," he wrote, ". . . let us restore the entente cordiale and go about our business without any further scrapping."

   • 1902, William Dean Howells, "The Man of Letters as a Man of Business" in Literature and Life:

     [F]ewer and fewer authors are turning from journalism to literature, though the ‘entente cordiale’ between the two professions seems as great as ever.

   • 1913, Louis Joseph Vance, The Day of Days, ch. 10:

     [H]e grew unpleasantly sensitive to a drop in the temperature of the entente cordiale which had thus far obtained between himself and the gambler.

   • 1918, Peter B. Kyne, The Valley of the Giants, ch. 24:

     [E]mbarrassment . . . had decided Bryce not to mention the matter of the girl to John Cardigan until the entente cordiale between Pennington and his father could be reestablished.

   • 1963 Feb. 15, "The Press: Through a Keyhole Darkly," Time (retrieved 8 July 2015):

     After a decade of scorched-earth warfare, Louella ("Lollipop") Parsons had sat down to public lunch with her rival, Hedda Hopper. The entente cordiale did not last, of course.

   • 2009 April 30, Matt Scott, "Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger will be sharing a pizza next," Guardian (UK) (retrieved 8 July 2015):

     The new and surprising entente cordiale between Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, whose mutual antipathy has been a recurring feature of the Premier League era, appears to have its roots on a Scottish golf course.

Usage notes

• Originally used as a common noun, this term has also become a proper noun, specifying the formal 1904 Anglo-French understanding. See Entente Cordiale.