This comes from the Old French touchier meaning to hit. What is the origin of the word touche?Īccording to Your Dictionary and Etymonline, the exclamation touche has been used since 1902 and comes from the French touché or la touche, the past participle of toucher, which is a French verb meaning to hit. The word touche is two syllables – tou-che, and the pronunciation of touche is tuːˈʃeɪ. The word touche can be used in many different ways by English speakers in the English language in both UK and American English. Someone might say touche in response to a good response, successful point, or good comeback line that an adversary or other person presents. In a fencing competition, a fencer says this word when they make a scoring hit. This term is also used in fencing as an acknowledgement of a hit. Overall, the French touché and the English touché have their similarities, but they aren’t always used in the exact same way so use your best judgment and learn as you go.According to Your Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the word touché is an interjection that acknowledges a clever point of response, telling remark, rejoinder, the acknowledgement of the striking home of a remark or successful criticism, or the capping of a witticism that is made by someone in a discussion or debate, such as a witty retort, or the superiority of an argument in a discussion. But, as always, listening and watching French speakers in movies, music, or TV shows is one of the best ways to get exposure to real life context clues. If you’re not sure when to use touché, you can always double check with a French speaker to be sure. It is one of the more versatile French verbs, which means that its meaning often changes based on the context. Unsurprisingly, touché is, like in English, used in fencing when a player has been hit by their opponent.Īs a verb toucher can also mean to touch, feel, affect or concern. The French also use touché when someone scores a touchdown in an American football game. If a missile hits its target, the person in charge of the operation might say “touché” when it touches down. More uses and translationsīut touché is also used in more serious matters. If you want to acknowledge that someone has made a good point against your own argument you can instead say:ĭirect translation: I bow down. The French use touché in the same conversational and casual way as English speakers do, but they use it more rarely. In a similar manner, touché is also used in fencing in order to acknowledge that you’ve been hit by your opponent. Here the person who said “touché” is acknowledging that his speaking partner made a good point against his own. “You always say we should support the American economy, but you only drink French wine.” In English, we use touché to acknowledge that a clever or good point has been made against one of our own. Today, the French use the verb toucher to mean to touch or to hit. Originally brought into the English language in 1907, touché came from the old French verb tochier, which meant “to touch, hit, or knock” and originally came from fencing. It won’t come as any surprise that the word touché comes from the French.
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