English

Adjective

prêt-à-porter ‎(not comparable)

1. ready-to-wear

Usage notes

Synonymous with ready-to-wear, of which it is a reborrowing, but somewhat more upscale, due to prestige of French.^[1]

References

1. 1 2 The Oxford Guide to Etymology, by Philip Durkin, 5. Lexical borrowing, 5.1 Basic concepts and terminology, pp. 213

French

Etymology

1951, prêt +‎ à +‎ porter, calque of English ready-to-wear.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɛ.t‿a.pɔʁ.te/

Noun

prêt-à-porter m ‎(plural prêts-à-porter)

1. ready-to-wear clothing, off-the-rack clothing, off-the-peg clothing
   • 1951, Le Figaro, 28 Dec 1951, p.3, col. 6:^[1]

     Salon du prêt-à-porter. Entre le prêt à porter et le sur-mesures classique un des plus grands tailleurs de Paris a lancé une formule inédite pour hommes.

Descendants

• English: prêt-à-porter

References

1. 1 2 “prêt-à-porter” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
2. ↑ The Oxford Guide to Etymology, by Philip Durkin, 5. Lexical borrowing, 5.1 Basic concepts and terminology, pp. 213