Should I write "repartee" with an accent?

Question

Does repartee need an accent with it in writing? Also, what does it mean?

Edit: Can you please provide an example sentence or two? I'd really appreciate it!

possible duplicate of Diacriticals and non-English letters in anglicized loan words: keep 'em, dump 'em, italicize the words, or what? — Robusto, Mar 24 '11 at 17:51
@Robusto In this case, the original French word apparently doesn't have an accent either. I don't know French, so I can't be sure. — Jason Orendorff, Mar 24 '11 at 17:57
so why is sautee spelled with accent and repartee not? :( ahhh i''ll never remember all this for my vocab test — katie, Mar 24 '11 at 18:09
@katie: seriously, no offense and no harm meant, I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings or step on any toes, but. I would be more worried about memorizing the correct spelling of more common words, such as "you", "I", and "please". — RegDwigнt, Mar 24 '11 at 18:32
@RegDwight :*( I said I would spell better in the other question, don't worry. I'm trying! — katie, Mar 24 '11 at 18:38

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 24 '11 at 17:53

2

Repartee is “conversation marked by a series of witty retorts” (wiktionary).

The word is spelled with no accents. It is apparently from the French repartie (with no accent).

answered Mar 24 '11 at 17:53

Jason Orendorff

can u use it in a sentence plz? :) thx! – katie Mar 24 '11 at 18:11
@katie Google dictionary offers several examples. – Jason Orendorff Mar 24 '11 at 18:53

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 25 '11 at 02:18

According to the Oxford Dictionaries, the definition of repartee is

conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies.

Repartee is always spelled without an accent. It is pronounced re-par-TEE (also, less commonly, re-par-TAY in the US).

Example:

That was the best outing we've had in years! Our hosts were fabulous, the dinner was fantastic, and the ensuing repartee was invigorating.

2 Answers2