word of the day: vis-à-vis

The word of the day is vis-à-vis:

Etymology:  French vis-à-vis face to face, < vis < Latin vīsum , accusative of vīsus sight, face

A. n.

1. A light carriage for two persons sitting face-to-face. Obs. exc. Hist. 

2.a. One or other of two persons or things facing, or situated opposite to, each other. 

b. esp. in dancing. Also as pl.

c. A counterpart, an opposite number. 

3. A meeting face to face; an encounter. 

B. prep.  Over against, in comparison with, in relation to; also lit., facing, face to face with.

C. adv. 

a. Opposite, so as to face (another or each other).

b. Const. to or with. (OED)

“Responses not present in the control were further analyzed by examining isotopic envelopes vis-à-vis peak spacing and abundances and checking for coelution of other charge states.”

 - Walter Davidson et al., “Characterizationof the binding site for inhibitors of the HPV11 E1-E2 protein interaction onthe E2 transactivation domain by photoaffinity labeling and mass spectrometry”, Analytical Chemistry 76:2095 (2004)