bel esprit
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bel esprit
First recorded in 1630–40; French: literally, “fine mind, wittiness”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The remnants beyond the threshold were from an estate that belonged to George Bucknam Dorr, a Boston lawyer, philanthropist, trail builder, bel esprit and a founder of Acadia National Park.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2014
It was not till about forty, when she had exhausted other excitements, that she took to bel esprit.
From Correspondence & Conversations of Alexis de Tocqueville with Nassau William Senior from 1834 to 1859, Volume 2 by Tocqueville, Alexis de
She was a bel esprit, and a dreadful Radical for those days.
From Vanity Fair by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Cavalier exiles like Waller, Cowley and Hobbes had come back from the winter of their discontent in Paris, and Saint-Evremond, the typical bel esprit and critic, settled long in England.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various
"Pray, ma'am, has she come out, or is she simply bel esprit?" inquired the lady.
From Marriage by Ferrier, Susan Edmonstone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
