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RSVP

Posted by R. Berg on August 13, 2002

In Reply to: RSVP posted by Tina on August 13, 2002

: Where did the custom originate that English speaking countries would use a French term?

In England, which was ruled by the French for a while (will some history major please help me out here?). English is full of borrowings from other languages, apart from the influence of the period of French occupation on many English words. The earliest example of "RSVP" in the Oxford English Dictionary is dated about 1845, long after the Anglo-Saxons got their country back.

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