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2006-11-23 10:05:47 · 19 answers · asked by idahogirl91 2 in Education & Reference Words & Wordplay

19 answers

tell them your comming to the party

2006-11-23 10:08:26 · answer #1 · answered by BoChOi 3 · 1 0

R.S.V.P. stands for a French phrase, "répondez, s'il vous plaît," which means "please reply." The person sending the invitation would like you to tell him or her whether you accept or decline the invitation. That is, will you be coming to the event or not? Etiquette rules followed in most Western cultures require that if you receive a formal, written invitation, you should reply promptly, perhaps that same day. For hosts who are planning a dinner party, a wedding or a reception, this is important from a practical point of view, because they need to know how many people to count on and how much food and drink to buy. More important, though, is the simple courtesy of responding to someone who was nice enough to invite you, even if it is to say that you regret that you will not be able to attend.
Many wedding invitations come with a response card that you can mail back right away. Other written invitations will carry the host's telephone number so you can call with your reply, although under strict etiquette rules, a written invitation requires a written reply. Nowadays, invitations often carry a "regrets only" notation at the end. That means that the host will count on your being there unless you tell him or her otherwise. Some people even use "R.S.V.P." as a verb, as in "Have you R.S.V.P.ed to that invitation?"

You might wonder why we use the initials of a French phrase in an invitation that is written in English. You could say that the French "invented" etiquette, although that would be a simplification because there have always been rules of courtesy to follow in civilization. In fact, an Italian diplomat, Conte Baldassare Castiglione, wrote the first book about proper behavior among nobility in the 16th century. Many of the practices of Western etiquette, however, came from the French court of King Louis XIV in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. At Versailles, his palace, Louis XIV had the rules for court behavior written on what the French referred to as "tickets," or "étiquette." The tickets either were signs posted at Versailles or were the invitations issued to court events with the rules of behavior printed on the back; experts give different versions of the origin. And French was the language of refinement and high society through the 19th century in the United States. Judith Martin, the author of etiquette books and a syndicated newspaper columnist known as "Miss Manners," thinks that "R.S.V.P." came about as a polite way of reminding people of something that they should already know: If you receive an invitation, you should reply.

2006-11-23 20:12:51 · answer #2 · answered by babygirl 3 · 0 0

What RSVP Means
The term R.S.V.P. comes from the French expression "répondez s'il vous plaît", meaning "please respond". If R.S.V.P. is written on an invitation it means the invited guest must tell the host whether or not they plan to attend the party. It does not mean to respond only if you're coming, and it does not mean respond only if you're not coming (the expression "regrets only" is reserved for that instance). It means the host needs a definite head count for the planned event, and needs it by the date specified on the invitation.

2006-11-23 18:12:10 · answer #3 · answered by Glenn L 1 · 0 0

It is a French word ''Respondez S'il Vous Plait'',meaning pls reply.Usually appears in an invitation card

2006-11-23 20:53:18 · answer #4 · answered by Smiles 3 · 0 0

It's an acronym, from the French for "Respondez S'il Vous Plait".
The literal translation is, "Respond, if you please".
When included on an invitation, it means let the party giver know whether you are coming or not.

2006-11-23 18:10:43 · answer #5 · answered by BRUCE C 1 · 1 0

Hi, This is an invitation to dinner or thing like that. They wish you to reply if you are coming or not. This way they know how much food to have,and how many places to set. EVEN if you decide not to go, you should reply and let them know.

Clowmy

2006-11-23 18:12:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Used on an invitation to request a response

2006-11-23 18:15:11 · answer #7 · answered by Ridwan Jaafar 2 · 0 0

basically means reply as soon as possible
Respond Slowly Via Post but tis french so we use asap

2006-11-23 18:08:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

It was originally French, but now we've bastardized it to Franglais, so most people say it means "respond sil-vous-plait"

2006-11-23 18:08:51 · answer #9 · answered by CSlave 2 · 0 0

Respondez s'il vous plait - French for please reply - let us know whether you are coming or not.

s

2006-11-23 18:08:30 · answer #10 · answered by Serendipity 7 · 0 0

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