bel-esprit

[ bel-es-pree ]

/ bɛl ɛsˈpri /

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noun, plural beaux-es·prits [boh-zes-pree]. /boʊ zɛsˈpri/. French.

a person of great wit or intellect.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON PARENTHESES AND BRACKETS APLENTY!

Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!

Question 1 of 7

Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?

First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.

First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.

First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.

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Words nearby bel-esprit

beleaguer, belection, Belém, belemnite, belemnoid, bel-esprit, Belfast, Belfort, belfry, Belg., belga

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for bel-esprit

I was sitting in this big empty house in Bel Air, with a phone with five extensions which we no longer needed.
Joan Rivers: Our Last Interview|Tim Teeman|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Brooks: We holed up in the Bel Air Hotel, where Gene was staying, and we acted all the parts out.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
CHERISHED MEMORIES FROM SHOOTING Tim Matheson: We shot near Ronald Reagan's Bel Air home, the Western White House.
‘She’s All That' 15th Anniversary: Cast and Crew Reminisce About the Making of the ‘90s Classic|Marlow Stern|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One theme that truly defines the film beyond esprit de corps and survival is lack of communication.
The Myth of Reality in ‘Lone Survivor’|Benjamin Busch|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

McCain and the boys will likely support him quickly and painlessly as a matter of senatorial esprit de corps!
Susan Rice Should Not Have Caved in to Senatorial Opposition|Sophia A. Nelson|December 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Bel is broken, Nebo is destroyed: their idols are put upon beasts and cattle, your burdens of heavy weight even unto weariness.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The king, therefore, put them to death, and delivered Bel into the power of Daniel: who destroyed him and his temple.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
But if you can shew that Bel eateth these things, Daniel shall die, because he hath blasphemed against Bel.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Esprit du clerg, ou le Christianisme primitif veng des entreprises et des excs de nos Prtres modernes.
Baron d'Holbach|Max Pearson Cushing
Don't you realize that you are about to be flung over a cliff and that a mad bull is waiting bel-o-o-w to catch you on his horns?
Ruth Fielding At College|Alice B. Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for bel-esprit

bel esprit

/ French (bɛl ɛspri) /

noun plural beaux esprits (boz ɛspri)

a witty or clever person

Word Origin for bel esprit

literally: fine wit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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