surprise

• surprize (US, rare)

From Middle English surprise, borrowed from Middle French surprise (“an overtake”), nominal use of the past participle of Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”), from sor- (“over”) + prendre (“to take”), from Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere (“to grasp, seize”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səˈpɹaɪz/
• (General American) enPR: sərprīzʹ, IPA^(key): /sɚˈpɹaɪz/
• (General American, r-dissimilation) enPR: səprīzʹ, IPA^(key): /səˈpɹaɪz/
• Hyphenation: sur‧prise

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -aɪz

surprise (countable and uncountable, plural surprises)

1. Something unexpected.

   It was a surprise to find out I owed twice as much as I thought I did.

   • 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:

     England were graphically illustrating the huge gulf in class between the sides and it was no surprise when Lampard added the second just before the half hour. Steven Gerrard found his Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson and Lampard arrived in the area with perfect timing to glide a header beyond Namasco.

   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Rickie Lambert’s debut goal gives England victory over Scotland (in The Guardian, 14 August 2013)

     They had begun brightly but the opening goal was such a blow to their confidence it almost came as a surprise when Walcott, running through the inside-right channel, beat the offside trap and, checking back on to his left foot, turned a low shot beyond Allan McGregor in the Scotland goal.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Surprise! - A party! Awesome!

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2. The feeling that something unexpected has happened.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess‎:

     The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. […] The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man’s private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared.

   Imagine my surprise on learning I owed twice as much as I thought I did.

3. (obsolete) A dish covered with a crust of raised pastry, but with no other contents.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of King to this entry?)

• (something unexpected): more than one bargained for
• (attributively: unexpected): unexpected
• (feeling): astonishment

• take by surprise

surprise (third-person singular simple present surprises, present participle surprising, simple past and past participle surprised)

1. (transitive) To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted by something unexpected.

   It surprises me that I owe twice as much as I thought I did.

2. (transitive) To do something to (a person) that they are not expecting, as a surprise.

   He doesn’t know that I’m in the country – I thought I’d turn up at his house and surprise him.

3. (intransitive) To undergo or witness something unexpected.

   He doesn’t surprise easily.

4. (intransitive) To cause surprise.
5. (transitive) To attack unexpectedly.
6. (transitive) To take unawares.

• (to come upon unexpectedly): overtake

• spurries, uprisers

Borrowed from French surprise.

• IPA^(key): /sʏrˈpriːzə/

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surprise f (plural surprises, diminutive surprisetje n)

1. (Netherlands) a gift wrapped in an ingenious or creative manner. Often given anonymously during Sinterklaas celebrations in a similar way to secret Santa

From the feminine of surpris, past participle of the verb surprendre.

• IPA^(key): /syʁ.pʁiz/

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surprise

1. feminine singular of the past participle of surprendre

   Je t’ai surprise en flagrant délit.

   I caught you in the act.

surprise

1. feminine singular of surpris

surprise f (plural surprises)

1. surprise (something unexpected)

• “surprise” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

surprise f (plural surprises)

1. Alternative form of surprinse

surprise

1. feminine singular of surpris

surprise

1. feminine singular of the past participle of surprendre