Qui-vive


[kee veev] /ki ˈviv/

noun
1.
(italics) French. who goes there?
Idioms
2.
on the qui vive, on the alert; watchful:
Special guards were on the qui vive for trespassers.
/ˌkiː ˈviːv/
noun
1.
on the qui vive, on the alert; attentive

1726, in on the qui vive “on the alert,” from French qui voulez-vous qui vive? sentinel’s challenge, “whom do you wish to live,” literally “(long) live who?” In other words, “whose side are you on?” (The answer might be Vive la France, Vive le roi, etc.).

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