ménage

or me·nage

[ mey-nahzh; French mey-nazh ]

noun

, plural mé·nages [mey-, nah, -zhiz, mey-, nazh].

1. a domestic establishment; household.
2. housekeeping.

adjective

1. of or relating to a ménage à trois:

   erotic ménage fiction.

ménage

/ menaʒ; meɪˈnɑːʒ /

noun

1. the persons of a household

Word History and Origins

Origin of ménage¹

First recorded on 1250–1300; Middle English, from French, ultimately from unattested Vulgar Latin mansiōnāticum; mansion, -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of ménage¹

C17: from French, from Vulgar Latin mansiōnāticum (unattested) household; see mansion

Example Sentences

The story continues at a motel, where Zendaya, playing a tennis prodigy, begins a ménage à trois with two guys; it fizzles after they become more interested in each other.

From New York Times

Such a ménage would be a decidedly nontraditional activity to partake in, of course, for a couple whose professional work demonizes such activities; the story has accordingly angered members of both political parties for opposite reasons.

From Slate

A stiletto-heeled, stiletto-tongued persona who might well have been the spawn of a ménage à quatre involving Oscar Wilde, Salvador Dalí, Auntie Mame and Miss Piggy, Dame Edna was not so much a character as a cultural phenomenon, a force of nature trafficking in wicked, sequined commentary on the nature of fame.

From New York Times

While it might seem like the relationship between Fox News and the former president is definitionally codependent—an inescapable chokehold of paranoid delusion that brings out the worst in each party—I would submit that it is actually more of a ménage à trois.

From Slate

“The goal,” said Thomas Ménagé of Ms. Le Pen’s National Rally party, “is to ensure that this text falls into the dustbin of history.”

From New York Times