À la carte
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For other uses, see À la carte (disambiguation).
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À la carte (
/ælæˈkɑrt/)[1] is a French language loan phrase meaning "according to the menu", and used in
- A reference to a menu of items priced and ordered separately, i.e. the usual operation of restaurants (In contrast to a table d'hôte, at which a menu with limited or no choice is served at a fixed price.)
- To order an item from the menu on its own, e.g. a steak without the potatoes and vegetables is steak a la carte
The phrase was adopted into English in 1826, predating by a decade the common use of the French language loanword "menu".[2][3]
[edit] Other industries
"À la carte" has also been adopted in other industries to refer to a sales model where customers are allowed to select individual components for purchase rather than being required to purchase predefined packages. A notable example is Leica Cameras "Leica À la carte" for their M-System [4][5][6][7][8]
[edit] See also
- table d'hôte, the opposite of À la carte
- List of French words and phrases used by English speakers
- pro rata, a method of billing or other calculation based on proportional usage
[edit] References
- ^ "À la carte". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 3rd ed. 2001.
- ^ Richard Bailey, Eating Words, Michigan Today, 13 May 2008.
- ^ Menu, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin
- ^ [1]
- ^ Sirius A La Carte, a service offering a selection of audio channels
- ^ Web design "À la carte"
- ^ Ceramics à la Carte, a business offering paint-your-own pottery
- ^ A la carte cable television
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