You have seen these four letters appear on most wedding, shower and other party invitations, and probably know already that these letters stand for 'Respond Please.' However, do you actually know what each letter of this acronym stands for? Well, it's all French! R.S.V.P stands for 'Répondez S'il Vous Plaît', which literally means 'Respond If You Please.'
So how did R.S.V.P make its way into being used for wedding and other event invitations? This dates all the way back to around the 11th century when French became the fashion among the elite of the English court. This continued in England for several hundred years. It was also the fashion in the United States, among high society, to use French as the language of refinement up until around the 19th century. From this, many similarly themed French phrases and words made their way into English, another example being the word “etiquette”.
Reference:
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/11/what-r-s-v-p-stands-for/
And now...for some 'RSVP' humor...
So how did R.S.V.P make its way into being used for wedding and other event invitations? This dates all the way back to around the 11th century when French became the fashion among the elite of the English court. This continued in England for several hundred years. It was also the fashion in the United States, among high society, to use French as the language of refinement up until around the 19th century. From this, many similarly themed French phrases and words made their way into English, another example being the word “etiquette”.
Reference:
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/11/what-r-s-v-p-stands-for/
And now...for some 'RSVP' humor...