Plural of affaire; multiple romantic liaisons, scandalous matters, or affairs of the heart.
French plural of 'affaire,' directly borrowed into English. The form maintains its French morphology, showing how English adopted French diplomatic and courtly vocabulary wholesale.
When English speakers say 'affaires' instead of 'affairs,' they're basically admitting they're gossiping in a fancy accent—it's a linguistic way of making scandal sound Continental and sophisticated!
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