belle époque

American  

[bel ay-pawk] / ˈbɛl eɪˈpɔk /

Or Belle Époque

noun

French.

• belles époques
  plural

1. the period (1871–1914) between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the outbreak of World War I, characterized by relative peacefulness in Western Europe and by marked advances and productivity in the arts, literature, technology, etc.

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belle époque British  

/ bɛl epɔk /

noun

1. the period of comfortable well-established life in Europe before World War I

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• belles époques
  plural

Etymology

Origin of belle époque

Literally, “beautiful epoch”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

belle époque

“Gigi” Vanessa Hudgens stars in Lerner and Loewe’s musical comedy set in belle époque Paris.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2015

Throughout Culture Crash, the 1990s function as a go-to belle époque: “the peak years of journalistic employment, especially for newspapers,” the height of architectural innovation, the heyday of indie rock.

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2015

But it otherwise eschewed belle époque nostalgia in favor of a calm, clean scheme of taupe and ash gray, glass dividers and tables with linen runners and contemporary tableware.

From New York Times ● Jun. 6, 2013

In Stephen Brimson Lewis's designs, lit by Tim Mitchell, this is a belle époque Paris Puccini might have known or Caillebotte might have painted.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 9, 2012

In a belle époque metal frame tinged with verdigris was a photograph of his parents, Grace and Ernest, three days after their wedding.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan