bel esprit
Americannoun
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beaux esprits
plural
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
A bel esprit, who whispered "Fame," And shook my card-house to the ground.
From The Poems of Schiller — Second period by Friedrich Schiller
Amongst others a M. Perrin introduced himself to me; he had formerly been director of the Opera Comique, and was now a well-to-do bel esprit and painter, and later became director of the Grand Opera.
From My Life — Volume 2 by Richard Wagner
French etiquette and fashions came in, and French phrases of convenience—such as coup de grace, bel esprit, etc.—began to appear in English prose.
From From Chaucer to Tennyson by Henry A. (Henry Augustin) Beers
It really requires the strength of Hercules, mind and body, to go through our labours, fashionable, political, bel esprit, altogether too much for mortal.
From Tales and Novels — Volume 10 by Maria Edgeworth
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.
