rendez

Rendez is primarily encountered as part of the French compound rendez-vous, which means an appointment or meeting. In standard French, rendez itself is the second-person plural or formal imperative form of the verb rendre and is not commonly used alone in modern language outside of this phrase. The noun rendez-vous has long been used to refer to a planned gathering, whether social, professional, or romantic, and the concept has spread into other languages through the borrowed form rendezvous.

Etymology and usage history: The word rendez comes from the verb rendre in Old and Middle French, with rendez in the imperative form meaning “present yourselves” or “be present,” combined with vous to form the directive in rendez-vous. Over time, the phrase shifted from a practical summons to a denotes a specific arranged meeting. The modern noun rendez-vous retains this sense of a scheduled encounter.

In English and other languages: English uses the loanword rendezvous to denote a meeting or gathering, and sometimes a place where parties meet. In English contexts, rendezvous can also refer to a prearranged meeting point or a meeting of troops or teams. The original French forms remain common in Western languages, especially in historical or literary contexts.

Other uses: Beyond language, rendez is rarely used as a standalone name. It may occasionally appear in toponymy or as part of personal names in French-speaking regions, but such uses are uncommon and not widely documented.

See also: Rendezvous, rendezvous (disambiguation), Rendre.