bijou

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /biˈʒuː/

Etymology 1

Borrowing from French bijou

Noun

bijou (plural bijous)

1. jewel
2. a piece of jewelry, a trinket
3. a small intricately made metalworking

Adjective

bijou (comparative more bijou, superlative most bijou)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Sabir, ultimately from Occitan pichon (“small, little”) , influenced by English bijou (“jewel”)

Adjective

bijou (comparative more bijou, superlative most bijou)

1. (Polari) small, little (often implying affection)
   • 1968 Kenneth Horne, "Bona Prods" in: Round the Horne

     You may have vada'd one of our tiny bijou masterpiecettes, heartface.

   • 1997, Ian Lucas, "The Color of His Eyes: Polari and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" in: Anna Livia, Kira Hall (editors), Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality, page 91

     We, the Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and the Gathered Faithful, do hereby invoke the spirit of our beloved Muffin the Mule, to recognize the bona work of Mr. Derek Jarman in promulgating Universal Joy [...] in his bijou masterpiecettes[.]

   • 2012, Paul, "Bijou Polari Appette pre-varda’d" in: Gay History (05/08/2012)

     Polari, used for decades by gay men, actors, and theatre performers and which famously appeared on primetime radio show Round The Horne, has been brought up-to-date with a bijou iPhone appette.

2. (of a residence) small and elegant
3. intricate; finely made

Usage notes

Often used with -ette on the noun that it describes, as in the quotations given above, and bijou problemette.

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Dutch

Alternative forms

• byou (hyperforeignism)

Etymology

Borrowing from French bijou.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biˈʒu/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bijou m (plural bijoux or bijous, diminutive bijoutje n)

1. a piece of jewelry, often specifically with fake gems

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French

Etymology

Borrowing from Breton bizou (“ring”), from biz (“finger”).

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /bi.ʒu/

Noun

bijou m (plural bijoux)

1. a piece of jewelry

Usage notes

Only seven words in French ending in ou have their plurals in oux instead of ous: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, hibou, joujou, pou.

See also

• bijouterie
• bijoutier

External links

• “bijou” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).