A “pair” as one

1 comment November 19th, 2009

If “pair” means “two,” as discussed previously, how did we get “au pair” to apply to one person? I’m glad I asked.

The word “pair” had its origin in the Latin “paria,” the neutral plural of “par,” which means “equal.”

So a pair is composed of two equal (or similar or corresponding) things.

“Au pair” (in French, literally, “as an equal”) concerns “an arrangement in which services are exchanged on an even basis,” like child care in exchange for room and board.

So there are two parties to an au pair arrangement, but generally only one of them is referred to as an au pair.