Borrowed fromFrench, literally “long live the difference”, fromvive(“long live”) +la(“the”) +différence(“difference, diversity”). Although correct and unremarkable French, it is not a stock phrase in French as it is in English.
- (US)IPA(key): /ˌvivə lɑ ˌdɪfəˈɹɑns/,/ˌviv lɑ ˌdɪfəˈɹɑns/
- (UK)IPA(key): /ˌviːv lɑː ˌdɪfəˈɹɒns/
vive la différence
- (often humorous)Used to expressappreciation ofdiversity, especially between thesexes; sometimes referring to cultural diversity, and more rarely to diversity of opinion, as in "let's agree to disagree".
2001 November 1, Sandra Díaz with Marcelo Cabido, “Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes”, inTrends in Ecology & Evolution[1], volume16, number11, pages646–655:
- Often used as a humorous exclamation (e.g., by a man appreciating an attractive woman).
- The termla différence is sometimes abstracted from this saying to refer to the difference between the sexes, or to heterosexual sexual interest implied to result from this.
