beau

See also Beau, and beau-

English

Etymology

Borrowing from French beau < Latin bellus (“beautiful”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /bəʊ/
• (US) IPA: /boʊ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Homophone: bow
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Noun

beau (plural beaux or beaus)

1. (dated) A man with a reputation for fine dress and etiquette; a dandy or fop.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 21

     “I do not comprehend the meaning of the word. But this I can say, that if he ever was a beau before he married, he is one still, for there is not the smallest alteration in him.”

     “Oh! dear! one never thinks of married mens’^[sic] being beaux—they have something else to do.”

2. (dated) A male lover; a boyfriend.
   • 1917, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, p. 142:

     Hannah's beau takes all her time 'n' thought, and when she gits a husband her mother'll be out o' sight and out o' mind.

   • 2009, Philippa Bourke, Monsters and Critics [1], Dec 10, 2009:

     Kristin Davis has taken time out to enjoy the surf and sand with her Australian beau, photographer Russell James.

3. A male escort.

Translations

dandy

• Bulgarian: конте (bg) (konte), франт (bg) (frant) m
• Czech: švihák (cs) m
• Finnish: keikari (fi), hienostelija (fi)

• German: Beau (de) m
• Russian: денди (ru) (déndi) m, франт (ru) (frant) m, щёголь (ru) (ščógol') m

boyfriend

• Bulgarian: гадже (bg) (gadže)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男朋友 (cmn) (nánpéngyou), (boyfriend or girlfriend) 對象 (cmn), 对象 (cmn) (duìxiàng)

• Czech: galán (cs) m
• Finnish: poikaystävä (fi)

• French: sigisbée (fr) m
• Japanese: カレ (ja) (kare), 彼 (ja) (かれ, kare) (it has two meanings, a fiance and he(pronoun).), 彼氏 (ja) (かれし, kareshi), カレシ (ja) (kareshi) , ボーイフレンド (ja) (bōifurendo)
• Romanian: iubitul (ro)
• Russian: бойфренд (ru) (bojfrénd) m, кавалер (ru) (kavalér) m, ухажёр (ru) (uxažór) m
• Spanish: novio (es)

See also

• beau-
• beautiful
• Beau

References

• beau in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

---

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin bibō. Compare Daco-Romanian bea, beau.

Verb

beau (third-person present singular indicative bea, past participle biutã)

1. I drink.

Related terms

• beare/beari
• biut

---

French

Etymology

From Old French biau, from Latin bellus.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bo/, X-SAMPA: /bo/

• Audio (France, Paris)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o
• Homophones: bau, baux, beaux, bot, bots

Adjective

beau m (feminine belle, masculine plural beaux, feminine plural belles)

1. handsome, fine, attractive
2. nice.
3. fair (weather).

   Il fait beau.

   It is fair (weather)

Usage notes

Use the form 'bel' before a singular masculine noun that begins with a vowel or an "h".

Derived terms

• avoir beau
• bellâtre
• bellement

Prefix

beau m (feminine belle, masculine plural beaux, feminine plural belles)

1. related by marriage; in-law or step-.

   belle-mère

   mother-in-law; stepmother (also marâtre)

   beau-fils

   son-in-law (also gendre); stepson

Anagrams

• aube

---

Middle French

Alternative forms

• bel

Etymology

Old French beau and its variant spellings

Adjective

beau m (feminine singular belle, masculine plural beaulx, feminine plural belles)

1. beautiful; handsome; attractive

Descendants

• French: beau

---

Old French

Adjective

beau

1. Alternative form of biau.
   • circa 1190, Marie de France, Lai de isclavret:

     beaus chevalers e bons esteit
     e noblement se cunteneit.

     Hansome knight and good was he
     and he behaved nobly.

Declension

  Declension of beau  

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	beaus	bele	beau
	Oblique	beau	bele	beau
Plural	Subject	beau	beles	beau
	Oblique	beaus	beles	beau

---

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA: [bʲæw]

Verb

beau

1. first-person singular present tense form of bea.
2. first-person singular subjunctive form of bea.
3. third-person plural present tense form of bea.
4. third-person plural imperfect form of bea.