converse

See also: Converse and conversé

English

Etymology 1

From Old French converser, from Latin conversor (“live, have dealings with”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kənˈvɜːs/
• (US) enPR: kənvûrs', IPA^(key): /kənˈvɝs/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Verb

converse (third-person singular simple present converses, present participle conversing, simple past and past participle conversed)

1. (formal, intransitive) To talk; to engage in conversation.

   Synonyms: (nonstandard) conversate, (informal) convo

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:

     Companions […]
     That do converse and waste the time together.

   • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, translated by John Dryden, De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:

     We had conversed so often on that subject.

2. (followed by with) To keep company; to hold intimate intercourse; to commune.
   • 1727, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:

     To seek the distant hills, and there converse
     With nature.

   • 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion:

     But to converse with heaven — This is not easy.

   • 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:

     Conversing with the world, we use the world's fashions.

3. (obsolete) To have knowledge of (a thing), from long intercourse or study.
   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:

     according as the objects they converse with afford greater or less variety

Derived terms

• conversation

Translations

to engage in conversation

• Afrikaans: gesels, gesprek voer
• Armenian: զրուցել (hy) (zrucʻel)
• Belarusian: размаўля́ць impf (razmaŭljácʹ), размо́віць pf (razmóvicʹ)
• Bulgarian: разговарям (bg) (razgovarjam), беседвам (bg) (besedvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 通話／通话 (zh) (tōnghuà), 交談／交谈 (zh) (jiāotán)

• Czech: konverzovat, rozmlouvat, hovořit (cs)
• Dutch: converseren (nl)
• Esperanto: interparoli
• Finnish: keskustella (fi)
• French: converser (fr)
• German: unterhalten (de) (reflexive), konversieren (de) (formal)
• Greek: συνομιλώ (el) (synomiló), συνδιαλέγομαι (el) (syndialégomai)

  Ancient: διαλέγομαι (dialégomai) ἔντευξις ποιῶ (énteuxis poiô) (+ dative)

• Hebrew: שוחח (he) (sokhéakh)
• Hindi: बात करना (bāt karnā)
• Hungarian: társalog (hu)
• Icelandic: spjalla (is), tala saman
• Irish: déan comhrá
• Italian: conversare (it)
• Kazakh: әңгімелесу (äñgımelesu)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Kituba: solola, kusolola
• Korean: 대화하다 (ko) (daehwahada)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: colloquor (la), fabulor, sermōcinor
• Maori: kōwetewete, kōrerorero
• Persian: صحبت کردن (fa) (sohbat kardan)
• Polish: rozmawiać (pl), gwarzyć (pl) impf, konwersować impf (rare)
• Portuguese: conversar (pt)
• Quechua: rimachiy, yawnay
• Russian: бесе́довать (ru) (besédovatʹ), обща́ться (ru) (obščátʹsja), разгова́ривать (ru) (razgovárivatʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: разгова́рати impf

  Roman: razgovárati (sh) impf

• Shan: ဢုပ်ႇဢူဝ်း (shn) (ʼùp ʼó)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: rozgranjaś se impf

• Spanish: conversar (es), tertuliar (es)
• Swedish: konversera (sv)
• Tagalog: makipag-usap
• Thai: สนทนา (th) (sǒn-tá-naa)
• Turkish: konuşmak (tr), söyleşmek (tr), sohbet etmek (tr), muhabbet etmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: розмовля́ти (uk) impf (rozmovljáty), розмо́вити pf (rozmóvyty)
• Urdu: بات کرنا (bāt karnā)
• Vietnamese: đối thoại (vi)
• Welsh: ymddiddan (cy)

Noun

converse

2. (now literary) Free verbal interchange of thoughts or views; conversation; chat.
   • 1728, Edward Young, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, Satire V, On Women, lines 44-46:

     Twice ere the sun descends, with zeal inspir'd, / From the vain converse of the world retir'd, / She reads the psalms and chapters for the day […]

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 177:

     She had around her gay converse, in which she had no share; and laughter, in which she was little tempted to join.

   • 1919, Saki, ‘The Disappearance of Crispina Umerleigh’, The Toys of Peace, Penguin 2000 (Complete Short Stories), p. 405:

     In a first-class carriage of a train speeding Balkanward across the flat, green Hungarian plain, two Britons sat in friendly, fitful converse.

   • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 26:

     [S]uch was the aberration of mind attending converse with a successful draper.

Etymology 2

From Latin conversus (“turned around”), past participle of converto (“turn about”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒnvɜːs/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) enPR: kŏn'vûrs, IPA^(key): /ˈkɑnvɝs/

Adjective

converse (not comparable)

1. Opposite; reversed in order or relation; reciprocal.

   a converse proposition

Noun

converse (plural converses)

1. The opposite or reverse.
2. (logic) Of a proposition or theorem consisting of a statement of the form "If A is true, then B is true", the statement "If B is true, then A is true" which need not be equivalent to the first one.

   All trees are plants, but the converse, that all plants are trees, is not true.

4. (semantics) One of a pair of terms that name or describe a relationship from opposite perspectives; converse antonym; relational antonym.

Derived terms

• conversely

Translations

opposite

• Afrikaans: teenoorgestelde (af)
• Bulgarian: обратно (bg) n (obratno)
• Dutch: tegenovergestelde (nl)
• Finnish: päinvastainen (fi)
• French: opposé (fr) m, inverse (fr) m
• German: Gegenteil (de) n, Umkehrung f
• Korean: 반대 (ko) (bandae)
• Occitan: envèrs (oc), invèrs (oc)
• Russian: противоположность (ru) f (protivopoložnostʹ)
• Spanish: revés (es) m, contrario (es) m, conversión f

proposition of the specific form

• Bulgarian: обратна теорема (obratna teorema)
• Finnish: käänteislause, käänteinen lause, käänteinen väite
• French: réciproque (fr) f
• German: Gegenteil (de) n, Umkehrung f, Umkehrschluss m, Gegenschluss m
• Icelandic: andhverfing f
• Korean: 역 (ko) (yeok)
• Occitan: reciproca f
• Portuguese: recíproca f
• Spanish: recíproca (es) f, inversa (es) f, sentido inverso m

Anagrams

• Cervones, conserve, coveners, encovers

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

converse f sg

1. feminine singular of convers

Verb

converse

1. inflection of converser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Galician

Verb

converse

1. inflection of conversar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Italian

Alternative forms

• convergé (rare)

Verb

converse

1. third-person singular past historic of convergere

Anagrams

• conserve, scernevo

Latin

Participle

converse

1. vocative masculine singular of conversus

Portuguese

Verb

converse

1. inflection of conversar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /komˈbeɾse/ [kõmˈbeɾ.se]
• Rhymes: -eɾse
• Syllabification: con‧ver‧se

Verb

converse

1. inflection of conversar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative