en-tout-cas

noun

A combination parasol-umbrella, that can protect from either sunshine or rain.

OriginFrench en tout cas →
First used 19th c.
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Meanings

nounen-tout-cas (countable and uncountable, plural en-tout-cas)
  1. countableA combination parasol-umbrella, that can protect from either sunshine or rain.First known use 19th c.

    ‘What delicious shade under those fine old trees. I almost wish I had brought my en-tout-cas.’

    1916, Dorothy Richardson, Backwater
  2. uncountableA clay-based surface for tennis courts, designed for rapid drainage.First known use 20th c.

    A hundred yards down the road a splendid en-tout-cas tennis court, with a pleasant small lean-to for spectators, was hewn out of the forest.

    2002, Lewis Spence, A Mountain View, page 155

Origin

  1. Frenchen tout cas“in any case; regardless”
  2. Englishen-tout-cas

From French en tout cas (“in any case; regardless”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

en-tout-cas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-tout-cas

MLA

“en-tout-cas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-tout-cas. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “en-tout-cas,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/en-tout-cas.

Source: en-tout-cas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.