detente
pronunciation
How to pronounce detente in British English:
UK [ˌdeɪˈtɑ:nt]
How to pronounce detente in American English:
US [deɪˈtɑːnt]
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- Noun:
- the easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations)
Word Origin
- détente
- détente: [20] English originally acquired this word from French in the 17th century as detent, which denotes a catch that regulates the movement of a clock. French détente, which originally signified a device for releasing a crossbow string, came from the past participle of Old French destendre ‘release’, a compound verb formed from the prefix des- ‘apart’ and tendre ‘stretch’ (related to English tension).But English-speakers, mistakenly associating it with detain [15] (a verb of completely different origin, via Old French detenir from Latin dētinēre ‘keep back’) completely reversed its meaning, applying to a restraining catch rather than a releasing one. French, the language of diplomacy, re-lent détente to English in the first decade of the 20th century in the sense ‘relaxation of international tension’.=> tension
- detente (n.)
- 1908 as a political term, a borrowing of French détente "loosening, slackening" (used in the Middle Ages for the catch of a crossbow), from Vulgar Latin detendita, fem. past participle of Latin detendere "loosen, release," from de- "from, away" (see de-) + tendere "stretch" (see tenet). The reference is to a "relaxing" in a political situation. The French word was earlier borrowed as detent (1680s) "catch which regulates the strike in a clock."
Example
- 1. The detente could not have been more opportune .
- 2. That creates dangers for anyone in china who favours detente .
- 3. Still , moore sees his detente with many local conservatives as a model .
- 4. That visit was the most concrete step in the kmt-led detente with china .
- 5. The move is the first real sign that detente with china has transcended purely trade and economics .