Qui vive is used in the phrase 'on the qui vive,' meaning to be alert or on the lookout. The term comes from a French sentinel's challenge, asking who is there.
Qui vive is a noun used in the phrase 'on the qui vive,' meaning to be on the alert or lookout. Originally a French challenge from a sentinel, it meant 'Long live who?'
| Word | qui vive |
|---|---|
| Date | December 8, 2016 |
| Type | noun |
| Syllables | kee-VEEV |
| Etymology | When a sentinel guarding a French castle in days of yore cried, "Qui vive?," your life depended upon your answer. The question the sentinel was asking was "Long live who?" The correct answer was usually something like "Long live the king!" Visitors not answering the question this way were regarded as suspect, and so to be "on the qui vive" meant to be on the alert or lookout, and qui vive came to mean "alert" or "lookout" soon afterward. Nowadays, the term is most often used in the phrase "on the qui vive," meaning "on the lookout." |
| Examples | "All right. Lieutenant Howard, go see how the artillery wagons are managing, and on the way tell Major Mason that I need him again. Stay on the qui vive; you may find evidence of liquor." — William T. Vollmann, The Dying Grass: A Novel of the Nez Perce War, 2015 "Pasadena Heritage staged its Colorado Street Bridge Party July 16, and Police Chief Phillip Sanchez was clearly on the qui vive at the entrance to the bridge." — Patt Diroll, The Pasadena Star News, 24 July 2016 |
| Definition | : alert, lookout — used in the phrase on the qui vive |
Tags: wordoftheday::noun
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