beauty

English

Etymology

From Middle English bewty, bewte, beaute, bealte, from Anglo-Norman and Old French beauté (early Old French spelling biauté), from Vulgar Latin *bellitās (“beauty”), from Latin bellus (“beautiful, fair”); see beau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbjuːti/
  • (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbjuɾi/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (Norfolk) IPA^(key): /ˈbuːti/
• (Norfolk) Homophone: booty
• Rhymes: -uːti

Noun

beauty (countable and uncountable, plural beauties)

1. The quality of being (especially visually) 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
2. Someone who is beautiful.

   Brigitte Bardot was a renowned beauty.

3. Something that is particularly good or pleasing.

   That phrasing is a beauty.

   What a goal, what a beauty.

4. An excellent or egregious example of something.
5. (with the definite article) The excellence, e.g. the genius

   The beauty of the deal is it costs nothing!

6. (physics, obsolete) A beauty quark (now called bottom quark).
7. Beauty treatment; cosmetology.
8. (obsolete) Prevailing style or taste; rage; fashion.
   • Jeremy Taylor

     She stained her hair yellow, which was then the beauty.

Usage notes

• 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

• (property, quality): gorgeousness, inspiration, loveliness, see Thesaurus:beauty
• (someone who is beautiful): belle, looker, see Thesaurus:beautiful person or Thesaurus:beautiful woman
• (something pleasing): gem, jewel

Antonyms

• (property, quality): repulsiveness, homeliness, ugliness

Derived terms

Terms derived from beauty

• age before beauty
• bathing beauty
• beaut
• beauteous
• beautician
• beautifiable
• beautification
• beautifier
• beautiful
• beautifully
• beautifulness
• beautify

• beautiless
• beautility
• beautisome
• beautyberry
• beautybush
• beauty consultant
• beauty contest
• beautydom
• beautyhood
• beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• beauty is only skin deep

• beauty mark
• beauty pageant
• beauty parlor
• beauty quark
• beauty queen
• beauty salon
• beauty school
• beautyship
• beauty shop
• beauty sleep
• beauty spot

• beauty strip
• California beauty
• Camberwell beauty
• line of beauty
• meadow beauty
• painted beauty
• raw beauty
• Rome beauty
• Rutland beauty
• Sleeping Beauty
• spring beauty

Translations

quality of pleasing appearance

• Ancient Greek: κάλλος n (kállos)
• Arabic: جَمَال‎‎ (ar) m (jamāl), طَلَاوَة‎‎ f (ṭalāwa)

  Egyptian Arabic: جمال‎‎ m (gamaal)

• Armenian: գեղեցկություն (hy) (gełecʿkutʿyun)
• Azerbaijani: gözəllik (az)
• Belarusian: прыгажо́сць f (pryhažóscʹ), хараство́ n (xarastvó), краса́ f (krasá)
• Berber: aẓři, aẓli, tiẓilt
• Bulgarian: ху́бост (bg) f (húbost), красота́ (bg) f (krasotá), пре́лест (bg) f (prélest)
• Catalan: bellesa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 美麗 (zh), 美丽 (zh) (měilì), 漂亮 (zh) (piàoliang)

• Czech: krása (cs) f
• Danish: skønhed c
• Dutch: schoonheid (nl) f
• Esperanto: belo
• Estonian: ilu
• Finnish: kauneus (fi)
• French: beauté (fr) f
• Friulian: bielece f
• Galician: beleza (gl) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Schönheit (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌿𐌽𐌴𐌹 f (skaunei)
• Greek: ομορφιά (el) f (omorfiá)
• Hebrew: יופי‎‎ m (yófi)
• Hindi: सौन्दर्य (saundarya), सुंदरता (hi) (sundartā)
• Hungarian: szépség (hu)
• Icelandic: fegurð (is) f
• Ido: beleso (io)
• Ingrian: kaunehusse
• Irish: áilleacht f, spéiriúlacht f, áille f
• Istriot: balissa f
• Italian: bellezza (it) f
• Japanese: 美しさ (ja) (うつくしさ, utsukushisa), (component) 美 (ja) (び, bi)
• Korean: 아름다움 (ko) (areumdaum)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: جوانی‎‎ (ku) (cwanî)

• Latin: pulchritudo f
• Latvian: daiļums m, skaistums m, glītums m
• Lithuanian: gražumas m, grožis (lt) m
• Low German: Schöönheit f
• Macedonian: уба́вина f (ubávina), красо́та f (krasóta), у́бост f (úbost)
• Maharastri Prakrit: 𑀭𑀽𑀅 (rūa)

• Malayalam: സൗന്ദര്യം (ml) (saundaryaṃ), മനോഹാരിത (ml) (manōhārita)
• Maltese: sbuħija f
• Maori: rerehua
• Mongolian: гоо үзэсгэлэн (goo üzesgelen), сайхан байдал (sajhan bajdal)
• Norman: bieauté f (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skjønnhet (no) m, f

  Nynorsk: venleik (nn) m, skjønnheit (nn) f

• Occitan: belesa (oc) f
• Old English: fægernes f
• Old French: biauté f
• Persian: زیبایی‎‎ (fa), جمال‎‎ (fa), حسن‎‎ (fa), قشنگی‎‎ (fa)
• Polish: piękno (pl) n, uroda (pl) f
• Portuguese: beleza (pt) f
• Romanian: frumusețe (ro) f
• Romansch: bellezza f (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader), bellezia f (Sursilvan), baleztgia f (Sutsilvan), balegia f (Sutsilvan), belezza f (Surmiran)
• Russian: красота́ (ru) f (krasotá), пре́лесть (ru) f (prélestʹ), краса́ (ru) f (krasá) (dated), лепота́ (ru) f (lepotá) (dated, poetic)
• Sardinian: bellesa f
• Scottish Gaelic: àilleachd f, maise f, sgèimh f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: лепота f, красота f (poetic), бај m (poetic), дивота

  Roman: lepota (sh) f, krasota (sh) f (poetic), baj (sh) m (poetic), divota (sh)

• Sicilian: bidizza f
• Slovak: krása f
• Slovene: lepota (sl) f
• Spanish: belleza (es) f
• Sudovian: grozis m
• Swahili: urembo (sw), uzuri (sw), jamala (sw)
• Swedish: skönhet (sv) c, fägring (sv) c (poetic)
• Tagalog: ganda, kagandahan
• Tajik: зебоӣ (tg) (zeboyī)
• Tamil: அழகு (ta) (aḻaku), எழில் (ta) (eḻil), சௌந்தரியம் (ta) (cauntariyam)
• Telugu: అందము (te) (andamu), చక్కదనము (te) (cakkadanamu)
• Thai: ความสวย (th) (kwaam-sǔai)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: güzellik (tr)
• Tuvan: чаражы (čaražı)
• Ukrainian: краса́ f (krasá), вро́да f (vróda)
• Venetian: bełézsa f
• Volapük: jön (vo)
• Votic: ilozuz
• Welsh: harddwch m, prydferthwch m
• Yiddish: שיינקייט‎‎ f (sheynkeyt)

beautiful male

• Bulgarian: красавец (bg) m (krasavec)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 帥哥 (zh), 帅哥 (zh) (shuàigē)

• Dutch: beauty (nl), schoonheid (nl), schone (nl)
• Esperanto: belulo
• Finnish: komistus (fi)
• German: (nominalized adjective) Schöner m
• Japanese: 美少年 (bishōnen), 美男 (ja) (binan)
• Kazakh: сұлу (sulw)
• Korean: 미소년 (ko) (misonyeon), 미남 (ko) (minam)
• Latvian: skaistulis m

• Macedonian: у́бавец m (úbavec)
• Malayalam: സുന്ദരന്‍ (sundaran‍)
• Portuguese: beleza (pt) f
• Russian: краса́вец (ru) m (krasávec), краса́вчик (ru) m (krasávčik)
• Serbo-Croatian: ljepotan (sh)
• Slovene: lepotec m
• Spanish: guapo (es) m
• Tamil: அழகன் (ta) (aḻakaṉ)
• Telugu: అందగాడు (te) (andagāḍu)
• Volapük: (♂♀) jönan, (♂) hijönan

beautiful female

• Arabic: حَسْنَاء‎‎ (ar) f (ḥasnāʾ), جَمِيلَة‎‎ f (jamīla), غَانِيَة‎‎ f (ḡāniya)
• Armenian: գեղեցկուհի (hy) (gełecʿkuhi)
• Belarusian: прыгажу́ня f (pryhažúnja), красу́ня f (krasúnja)
• Bulgarian: красавица (bg) f (krasavica)
• Catalan: bellesa (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 美人 (zh) (měirén), 美女 (zh) (měinǚ)

• Czech: kráska f, krasavice f
• Danish: skønhed c
• Dutch: schoonheid (nl), schone (nl) f
• Esperanto: belulino
• Finnish: kaunokainen (fi), kaunotar (fi)
• French: beauté (fr) f
• German: Schönheit (de) f, Schöne (de) f (nominalized adjective)
• Greek: καλλονή (el) f (kalloní)
• Hungarian: szépség (hu)
• Interlingua: beltate
• Italian: bellezza (it) f
• Japanese: 美人 (ja) (びじん, bijin), 美女 (ja) (びじょ, bijo), 別嬪 (ja) (べっぴん, beppin) (dated)
• Kazakh: сұлу (sulw), ару (arw)
• Korean: 미인 (ko) (miin) (美人 (ko)), 미녀 (ko) (minyeo)
• Latvian: skaistule f, daiļava f

• Lithuanian: gražuolė f
• Macedonian: уба́вица f (ubávica)
• Malayalam: സുന്ദരി (ml) (sundari)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skjønnhet (no) m, f

  Nynorsk: skjønnheit (nn) f

• Polish: piękność (pl) f
• Portuguese: beleza (pt) f, beldade (pt) f
• Romanian: frumusețe (ro) f
• Russian: краса́вица (ru) f (krasávica), красо́тка (ru) f (krasótka)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: лепотица f, љепотица f, лепојка f, љепојка f

  Roman: lepotica (sh) f, ljepotica (sh) f, lepojka f, ljepojka (sh) f

• Slovak: kráska f, krásavica f
• Slovene: lepotica f
• Spanish: guapa (es) f, belleza (es) f
• Swedish: skönhet (sv) c
• Tamil: அழகி (ta) (aḻaki)
• Ukrainian: красу́ня f (krasúnja)
• Vietnamese: mỹ nhân (vi) (美人), mỹ nữ (vi)
• Volapük: (♂♀) jönan, (♀) jijönan

something particularly good or pleasing

• Bulgarian: красота (bg) f (krasota)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 美 (zh) (mĕi)

• Czech: krása (cs) f
• Dutch: juweeltje (nl) n, prachtexemplaar n
• German: Prachtstück n
• Latvian: skaistulis m, skaistums m

• Malayalam: മനോഹരം (ml) (manōharaṃ), സുന്ദരം (ml) (sundaraṃ)
• Polish: piękność (pl) f
• Portuguese: beleza (pt) f
• Russian: конфе́тка (ru) f (konfétka)
• Spanish: belleza (es) f
• Tamil: தலைசிறந்த (talaiciṟanta)

excellence

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} het mooie (nl) n

• Hungarian: szépség (hu)

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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} beauté (fr) f
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} יופי‎‎ m (yofi)

• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} maise f, ^{(please verify)} brèaghachd f, ^{(please verify)} bòidhchead f, ^{(please verify)} grinneas m, ^{(please verify)} sgèimh f
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} ljepota (sh) f

See also

• usefulness

Interjection

beauty

1. (Canada) Thanks! Cool!

   It's the long weekend. Beauty!

Adjective

beauty (comparative more beauty, superlative most beauty)

1. (Canada) Of high quality, well done.

   He made a beauty pass through the neutral zone.

Further reading

• beauty in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• beauty in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

---

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English beauty.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: beau‧ty

Noun

beauty f (plural beauty's, diminutive beauty'tje n)

1. A beauty, looker, beautiful person
2. 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

3. Human beauty, as the object or goal of cosmetics etc.

Synonyms

• schoonheid
• (beautiful thing only): juweeltje n, prachtexemplaar n