ménage à trois

See also: menage a trois

English

Borrowed from French ménage à trois (literally “household of three”).

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmeɪnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/, /ˌmɛnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/, /məˌnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/
(US) IPA^(key): /ˌmeɪnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/, /ˌmɛnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/, /məˌnɑːʒ ɑː ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/, /məˌnɑːʒeɪ ˈt(ɹ)wɑː/
Rhymes: -ɑː

ménage à trois (plural ménages à trois)

A household or relationship whereby three people live together as lovers.
- 1856, Richard F. Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, Könemann 2000, page 105:
  Old men frequently marry young girls, but then the portion is high and the ménage à trois common.
- 2001, Sheila Isenberg, A Hero of Our Own, page 134:
  For a while, he lived in a ménage à trois with the poet Paul Eluard and his wife, Gala Diakonova (who would later marry Salvador Dali).
- 2006, Gene Lees, Portrait of Johnny, page 56:
  I'm not a prude and I wasn't a prude then, but I couldn't see living in a ménage à trois unless the third member were a girl.
- 2012 April 13, Alex Donald, Blonde - Joyce Carol Oates
  Blonde creates a completely authentic reality for Monroe and also shines a light on little known relationships such as the menage a trois between Monroe, Charles Chaplin Junior and Eddy Robinson Junior.
A sexual act or experience involving three people; a threesome.
- 1996, Cyrinda Foxe, in McNeil & McCain, Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, page 134:
  David and Angela and I had a ménage à trois for about five minutes, but then I made her leave because David and I were gonna play.
- 1999 November 15, John Cloud, ‘Henry & Mary & Janet &...’, Time:
  No, the two guys don't go for each other; the triad tried a ménage à trois once but stopped because Chris thought it was icky.

ménage à trois m (plural ménages à trois)

Unadapted borrowing from French ménage à trois (literally “household of three”).

ménage à trois f or m (plural ménages à trois)