contretemps
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:43 am
mark un-forseen Baileycon·tre·temps (kntr-tä, kôtr-tä)
n. pl. contretemps (-täz, -täz)
An unforeseen event that disrupts the normal course of things; an inopportune occurrence.
[French : contre-, against (from Latin contr-; see contra-) + temps, time (from Latin tempus).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.