au fait

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French au fait (literally “at fact”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌəʊˈfeɪ/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌoʊˈfeɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

au fait (comparative more au fait, superlative most au fait)

1. Being familiar with or informed about something.

   Synonyms: acquainted, at home, conversant, familiar

   Are you au fait with the rules of the game?

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 175:

     The Chevalier was, as usual, au fait at all the anecdotes of the court, which had been exceedingly gay, owing to the visit of Madame de Savoie and her daughter, the Princess Marguerite.

   • 1871, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, “The Silent Partner”, in Popular American Literature of the 19th Century, →ISBN, page 857:

     Now there is father; he is au fait in all these matters; has a theory for every case of whooping-cough, – and a mission school.

   • 1999, R.J. Hankinson, The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy, →ISBN, page 535:

     In that case, it would help to have a benevolent deity who is au fait with those complexities — but that there is such a deity is a feature of Stoic theology.

   • 2003, D R J Laming, Understanding Human Motivation: What Makes People Tick?, →ISBN, page 4:

     This may sound needless to the professional who is au fait with the history and direction of the investigation.

Further reading

• “au fait”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o fɛt/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Adjective

au fait (invariable)

1. au fait [with de ‘with’]

   Êtes-vous au fait des règles du jeu ? ― Are you au fait with the rules of the game?

See also

• au courant de

Adverb

au fait

1. by the way

   Au fait, d’où viens-tu ? ― By the way, where do you come from?

   Au fait, j’ai rendez-vous chez le médecin à onze heures, donc en fait je vais arriver en retard chez toi . ― By the way, have a doctor's appointment at eleven, so I'm actually going to be late to your house.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with en fait.

Anagrams

• fautai