beau idéal

See also: beau ideal

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French beau idéal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboʊ aɪˈdiːl/, (or like French) IPA^(key): /-i.deɪˈæl/, /-i.diˈæl/

Noun

beau idéal (plural beaux idéals)

1. Ideal excellence, or an imaginary standard of perfection.
   • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 312:

     I never knew any debatable point not maintained on both sides by unanswerable arguments; and yet you are angry that he has not thrown every advantage aside to enact your beau-idéal of patriotic excellence.

2. An emulable eidolon embodying excellence in a particular respect.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:beau idéal.