"faire part de"

[Mary C.]

I've just come across this phrase in my reading and can't find it in any dictionary.

[Neil Coffey]

When you're looking up phrases like this, the clue is often to try and look up the most "distinct" word of the phrase. The verb "faire" is used in so many phrases that it would be impractical to list all but extremely common expressions under this word. So the key is to look up "part" instead. (This is my French-English entry for the word part.)

 

Usually, "faire part de..." means "to announce, notify", though it can have other meanings so if you're in doubt, it's maybe worth giving the whole sentence.

[Mary C.]

Thank you!  Actually, we--my husband and I--had looked in several dictionaries without success, but considering the many idioms that involve "faire," we may not have seen the right one--or it may not have been in any of them!  So your quick reply was a big help!  Merci encore!

[stu harris]

The expression becomes a noun when hyphenated. Un faire-part = An invitation.

[Mary C.]

Or an announcement, perhaps?  Thank you!

[lauris]

Yes "un faire-part" can be used for an announcement too.

You can often see "un faire-part de naissance" for the birth of a child, "un faire-part de mariage" for a wedding, which is more like an invitation, and I think, "un faire-part de décès" when a person is dead.

If "un faire-part" is more a general announcement or invitation, for me, "faire part de quelque chose" is more saying something to someone in confidence.

An example : "Mary a fait part de ses doutes à Thomas". In this case, Mary said to Thoma she has doubts about something, but won't tell it to anybody.

[Barbara Kornreich]

It means to let know, as "Il lui a fait part de la fête" (He let him know about the celebration"