beauty
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Anglo-Norman and Old French beauté (early Old French spelling biauté), from Vulgar Latin *bellitās (“beauty”), from Latin bellus (“beautiful, fair”); see beau.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
beauty (countable and uncountable; plural beauties)
- The property, quality or state of being "that which pleases merely by being perceived" (Aquinas); that which is attractive, pleasing, fine or good looking; comeliness.
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
- Warwick's first glance had revealed the fact that the young woman was strikingly handsome, with a stately beauty seldom encountered.
- 1988, "… beauty and recollection, like danger, glamour, greed, hunger- everything but disappointment and desire- were concepts belonging to other people.” -Second Son, Robert Ferro
- 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,
- Someone who is beautiful.
- Brigitte Bardot was a renowned beauty.
- Something that is particularly good or pleasing.
- That phrasing is a beauty.
- What a goal, what a beauty.
- An excellent or egregious example of something.
- (with the definite article) The excellence, e.g. the genius
- The beauty of the deal is it costs nothing!
- (physics, obsolete) A beauty quark (now called bottom quark).
- Beauty treatment; cosmetology.
Usage notes [edit]
- Adjectives often applied to "beauty": natural, great, real, physical, exotic, inner, spiritual, strange, divine, visual, heavenly, intellectual, facial, attractive, sensuous, sensual, seductive, musical, austere, alluring, mathematical, geometric, astounding, bodily, pictorial.
Synonyms [edit]
- (property, quality): gorgeousness, inspiration, loveliness
- (someone who is beautiful): belle, looker
- (something pleasing): gem, jewel
- See also Wikisaurus:beauty
- See also Wikisaurus:beautiful woman
Antonyms [edit]
- (property, quality): repulsiveness, homeliness, ugliness
Derived terms [edit]
Derived terms
Translations [edit]
quality of pleasing appearance
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beautiful male
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beautiful female
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something particularly good or pleasing
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
See also [edit]
Interjection [edit]
beauty
- (Canada) Thanks! Cool!
- It's the long weekend. Beauty!
Adverb [edit]
beauty (comparative more beauty, superlative most beauty)
- (Canada) Of high quality, well done.
- He made a beauty pass through the neutral zone.
Statistics [edit]
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Most common English words before 1923: heavy · single · foot · #617: beauty · attention · standing · books
External links [edit]
- beauty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- beauty in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Dutch [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From English beauty.
Noun [edit]
beauty f (plural beauty's or beauties, diminutive beauty'tje)
- A beauty, looker, beautiful person
- A beautiful other creature or thing
- Die prachtige hengst is al net zo'n beauty als z'n ruiter
- That gorgeous stallion is as much of a beauty as his rider
- Die prachtige hengst is al net zo'n beauty als z'n ruiter
- Human beauty, as the object or goal of cosmetics etc.
Synonyms [edit]
- schoonheid
- (beautiful thing only) juweeltje n, prachtexemplaar n
Categories:
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English nouns
- en:Elementary particles
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English interjections
- Canadian English
- English adverbs
- en:Appearance
- Dutch terms derived from English
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with multiple plurals